Elle's Life March

Here are a few snippets of my month that I didn't share in my March Favorites video.

Our centerpiece for this month was St. Patrick's Day. I love that Mark does these for our dining room table and I think he does a wonderful job!

I was blessed to be able to get together with my snowbird girlfriend again while she is here in Phoenix.  Her time always goes far too quickly for my liking.  This time we met for Thai.  Definitely not the best Pad Thai I ever had but the company more than made up for it!

On one of our trips, I had this most amazing seafood stuffed avocado.  Yum!  I get hungry just thinking about it.

As you can see, our allergies are still going strong but, everything being in bloom is so pretty that we can't complain.

This is the knitting project that I started when Mark and I were first dating that I committed to finishing this year.  It is a sweater for me but apparently I was a lot smaller back then lol! It is actually a very stretch lace pattern.  As my eyesight has deteriorated, this black lace pattern has become a nightmare for me to work on. 

I figured it was time that I pull it back out if I am going to finish it this year.  Any knitters out there know that when you put a project aside for a long time, it is a horrible thing to have to pull it out and figure where you left off (on the sweater and in the pattern).  I can say that like most things in life, this was much easier than I dreaded.  I have finished the front (needs the neckline) the back and 80% of the sleeves.

Work is 'challenging' with a new boss and lots of pressure but, I still realize how blessed I am and life is fantastically good.  I hope yours is as well.

Sunday Chat: Don't Rush

Sunday Chat: Self Talk

Elle's Life February

I know that February is a short month but with work and personal life being so busy it really flew by.

With Valentine's Day, February is symbolic of love. I made it a point to think of things in my life that I was loving as I believe this enhances your sense of appreciation/contentment.

Mark was in charge of doing our Valentine's themed centerpiece. I think he did a beautiful job!

Olivia is still doing her monthly treatments which take quite a toll but, the rest of the time she is doing great. She went to an awards banquet to celebrate her year of Junior B hockey! Olivia and her friend were presented with Generals jerseys for their dedication to the team!

Once a year Arbonne Independent Consultants bring together a group of young women who are living with, surviving and thriving through cancer to celebrate how beautiful they are. It's a day of gifts, glamour and mentorship. Olivia and some of her oncology friends are among the 13 young women selected.  I am hoping they do a video the same as they did last year and I will be sure to share that. I am so excited for her!

Here she is at the make over. It brings tears to my eyes to see all these beautiful young women with cancer being able to get together and share make-up, laughter and just enjoying being girls.

Mature Women of YouTube List (over 45 years old)

I am so excited that all of you, with and without a channel, have contributed to add to the list of 55 channels (and growing!) of the "Mature Women of You Tube"

Please share the link  http://maturewomenofyoutube.blogspot.com to spread the word and help support this fabulous community of women.  Also, go check out these channels as I am sure you will find at least one or two wonderful channels to add to your list. 

Thanks again to all of you in making this such a fabulous community of sharing.  I love you all!

P.S. - I have advertised this site on Google and will be sharing it next month on my channel so, check back to the site often as I expect the list to continue to grow! 

Sunday Chat: Contentment

Ipsy February

With 2015 being the year of 'being content' and 'focusing on what I have' I realize that there is no longer a want or need for Ipsy in my life so, right after this bag shipped, I canceled my subscription.  Of course, I really loved this month's bag lol!

 This month's Ipsy bag came in this adorable sturdy vinyl bag that I will use for traveling

 I used my points before canceling to get this Bare Minerals 5 in 1 shadow.

 This beautiful blush from Model Co is Cosmopolitan.  I will definitely get some use out of that!

 An eyelash curler is something I will definitely put to good use

 I love face oils so am really excited to get this little bottle by Mitchell and Peach

  As you will see next week in my favorites, I am loving my lip stains right now so this City Colors Lip Stain will be fun to have.

 Eva NYC Up All Night Volumizing Spray will be great for when we travel.

 Overall, this may have been Ipsy's best bag for me!  Totally love everything I got. I am glad to be focusing on what I have but, may well resubscribe in the future once I work through a lot of my stash.  Definitely a fun service that gives me a chance to try products I wouldn't normally get and they are especially great for all the travel that I do.

Sunday Chat: Perfectionism/Accepting Yourself

Elle's Life January

We celebrated New Years at a romantic little Italian place we love to go to in California.  We both had the Chicken Florentine that was covered in the most decadent pesto cream sauce.  Yum! A fabulous way to start the year.

Again, I am fortunate enough to have a lot of my life revolve around getting together with girlfriends which always means good food.

Lunch at Pei Wei's (a fast food version of PF Chang's)

An amazing tortilla soup with beautiful presentation.  They bring it to the table with the chicken, avocado and tortilla strips in a mound in the middle of the bowl and then pour the delicious rich broth all around

Olivia barely got over her cough and then had to go down the mainland for another lumbar puncture and chemo treatment.  She is handling everything like a champ, doing well at school and with all of her sports activities.  She had her 15th birthday in January. Her hair is growing a lot. I swear this girl looks stunning with every look!

  

Olivia and her girlfriend made bows, bracelets and headbands to brighten the day for children and teens in the hospital and to help girls feel pretty when they lose their hair.  They turned this into a fundraiser by selling their handmade accessories and raised $2,275 to give back to the Ronald McDonald House where they both had extended stays during their treatments. She makes me so proud that I tear up just thinking about it. If you wish to donate to the Ronald McDonald House please put "On behalf of Olivia" in the comments section https://www.rmhbc.ca/how-to-help/donate-online  

As part of 2015 'being content' and 'focusing on what I have', I have been working on doing an inventory of all of my make-up.  A definitely eye opener that I encourage everyone to do! YouTube videos will be coming soon but here is a sneak peak.  I truly had no idea how much I had.