Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Orange?

I've never been afraid of colour. 

In fact, if you were to look into my closet, it would be as if you stepped into a rainbow wonderland.

That was until I became a mom, gained those extra pounds and *sigh* became acquainted with a very dear friend, Mr. Black. (not to be mistaken with Mr. Grey... that's a whole different story).

It wasn't until I realized that I can still rock flattering colour in my wardrobe without feeling like a walking Kool-aid mascot.

What a better time to incorporate some luminosity into your life than Spring & Summer?
Of course during the colder months, sparks of bright hues always brings a pleasant surprise -- leave that with the accessories (a girl's best friend).

Two of the colours that I am absolutely enchanted by are Tangerine and Coral.
Both in the same colour family and both very zesty and captivating hues that look striking on all women of all shades and colours, shapes and sizes.

A great way to incorporate bright hues such as these into your wardrobe if your a little colour-shy is to start with accessories -- chunky bracelets, necklaces, earrings, sandals.
And/or some splash of colour with nail polish, blush or lipstick (if you're not a lipstick girl, perhaps even some lip gloss).
Start slow.

Once you've decided you're brave enough to up your colourful wardrobe this summer with larger pieces, I'd say to go with tops first.
Add that colour to your life and most importantly -- have fun with it!

Cheers to a bright summer! 

What's your favourite Spring/Summer 2012 trend?

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Thank You, Mom

Sometimes the words don't often come when they're suppose to.
Sometimes I'm hoping to hear those words come out of the mouth of my own little creation just so that I know I'm doing my job right.
Sometimes I often wish I had said the words every single time I felt it to my mom.


It's 4 more days till Mother's Day.
As I sit here, 5 months pregnant, sipping chocolate milk next to my 3 1/2 year old daughter as she giggles and looks scrupulously upon a puzzle she is trying to complete, I can't help but beam and feel an overpowering sense of accomplishment and love.

There are moments when I don't feel that.
There are moments when I feel like I'd like to just run away from it all and sometimes there are even moments when I find myself pondering why I decided to start a family at such a ripe age.
I felt overwhelmed, overworked, weary.

In 4 months time, on top of welcoming our newest little addition to our family, another momentous occasion begins -- Ava starts Junior Kindergarten!  This is all happening within days of one another and boy am I ever anxious. Just 1 month or so before that, we are moving out of our first family home into a brand new one.
Wow, talk about strenuous, huh?

I can't help but think about my mom.  She had 3 children, worked while pregnant with 2 out of 3 of them including taking public transit and walking in all types of weather to help provide for her children all while ensuring we had our breakfast before she left for work and then making sure she was there to pick us up when we got out of school.  She drove us to endless locations: appointments, classes, sleepovers, birthday parties, etc. even when she was extremely exhausted from work, preparing dinner and making sure the house was kept up.

She sustained many heartaches & surprises along the years with her family and also when my father was diagnosed with Lymphoma Cancer.

Through it all, she always remained calm, collected, warm & positive.

My mom with her 2 daughters, Carol (Me) & Charlotte

She never allowed us to see her worries and sadness (although as the eldest, it was easy for me to pin-point when she was feeling that way).
She made sure that we never felt like failures even when we did fail at something.
She made sure to applaud us for all our accomplishments and root us on when we were ready to give up.

She cried with us, she laughed with us, she defended us, she comforted us, she stood by us. She was always there.

And now she's a Grandmother. And that unconditional love she gave us, she now gives our children.
She has taught me how to be the best Mother I can be.

With her Grand-Children (L-R): Ava, Aiden, Alyssia.

Thank you, Mom.
For everything.

I came across this video for the P&G London 2013 Olympic Games Titled 'Best Job' and knew I had to share with all the deserving, hard-working & loving moms out there.

Grab your kleenex!

Being a Mom is definitely the hardest but BEST job in the world.  Agree?

Wishing all the Beautiful and Amazing Moms a Wonderful and Happy Mother's Day!

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Another Year to Get it Right

Happy new year my lovely readers!
I hope this New Year started off with a bang and is continuing to be a welcome one.
With every year that inaugurates, a new chapter in our lives begin.  Whether the last year brought to you warm memories or ones that hurt the heart, the great thing about life is that you can always start new.

This year, I gave myself some simple resolutions; however, very important ones.
Ones that will help me to become a better person not just for myself, but for the ones that I love.
One of the most important things that I promised myself this year is that I will start focusing on what will strengthen my relationship with those that I care about.
What I can do to make us stronger, happier, fulfilled, encouraged, healthy.


There are a few very serious decisions that I will have to make this year that will determine which path I will take next. Decisions that are life-changing. With a good support system and a positive outlook, things will hopefully turn out great. We need to have HOPE this year.
H O P E = (H)ave (O)nly (P)ositive (E)xpectations


Wishing you all a wonderful start to your New year and the strength and courage to take bold steps to achieving your goals.
I raise a glass to the year of 2012. May it be filled with dreams come true, things checked off your to-do list, lots of laughter, hugs and kisses, good health and prosperity. Cheers!

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As 2011 draws to a close...

“For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.” 
- T.S. Eliot

I'm sitting here in my office, comfy in my big sweater, pair of jeans and warm fuzzy slippers, a piping hot cup of fresh coffee on my desktop just reflecting on all the positive and wonderful things that have happened to me and my family this year.
Just an hour before this, I was agitated and dismayed by a chain of circumstances that I allowed to take control over my emotions.
My skills and passion as a writer were challenged and criticized, my job as a work-from-home mother was critiqued and my hopes of conceiving another baby was thrown out the window yet again this month.


I'm weak. I'm human.


The one thing about me is that I'm an eternal optimist. I always like to find the good in the bad, the positive in the negative, the light at the end of winding dark tunnel.
I usually don't like to let things get to me, but as of late, a lot of things have been getting to me. Badly.

Another thing about me is as tough as rock as I can show myself to be to the outer world, I do wear my heart on my sleeve.
I over-analyze things sometimes and I can be quite the perfectionist.

My sweet little girl is now 3 and a big ball of energy. She brings me light & so much happiness. She teaches me something everyday -- to see things in a child-like & humble manner.

I was blessed to be offered so many amazing opportunities this year that brought me unexpected surprises, one after the other, including my new job offer from home as an Online Community Manager. This was a pleasant and much-needed curve ball that struck me this year.
After having been retired from the 9-5 hustle & the demands of being an Entrepreneur & small business owner and making the strategic choice to stay home and raise my daughter in 2008, even the thought of returning to work part-time bothered me. I was loving my job as a stay-at-home mom. But, at the same time, we were in need of financial support.
My husband is a hard-worker and I couldn't be more proud of where he's at at this stage in his life, career-wise, but I was growing weary of seeing him do it all alone.
There were some really tough months for us as a young, growing family in our first home.
He was doing it all on his own. Supporting not just himself, but 2 others.

On top of this, we were trying for another child this year and I was in and out of the fertility clinic, thousands of dollars already out of our account in hopes of fulfilling our dreams to give our daughter a sibling.
She asks us every single day.
Typing this is very hard for me and I'm really fighting back tears. God, it's been so tough.

But in the midst of all the trials & tribulations, this year has also brought us a tremendous amount of happiness. Things that have overshadowed all the problems. God has listened to our prayers and has been blessing us abundantly with many little surprises that I couldn't be more grateful for.

Usually every year around this time, I reflect and write a list of resolutions for the New Year. Some I stick to and achieve, some I don't.
This year, I think I will only have one resolution: To be more grateful and to really appreciate all the little things.
As cliché of a resolution it may be, for me, it's so much more.

I challenge you to take 5 minutes or more in your schedule to write down all the things you are grateful for this year before you write down what goals you would like to attain for 2012.

I hope this year has been good to you...
All the best to you in the New Year!

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