No Puppies Here

Hey guys, 

So I wanted to let you know what is happening now, and keep you updated about what is going on with the blogging/beauty video situation. 

Tomorrow, you would normally get a Man's Best friend post, but I will be in Ottawa all day with my best friend instead! i hope you will forgive me! You will definitely get one next week, so make sure you check that out when you can. I am "babysitting" an adorable little Collie/Hound/Beagle mix named Chopper. Her daddy is on a business trip and couldn't find a place for her to stay for the next couple of weeks, so when he asked if I could do it, I was so excited! I love dogs of all types, and I am one of those people who believes that every dog is born good, and has a great heart; Chopper is no different. She is the sweetest thing ever and she gets along great with my two babies. I was so thrilled to be able to watch her for such an extended period of time because I think it will really let me get my confidence up when it comes to taking care of other dogs. I am so excited to test myself. 

So, I will be posting tons and tons of pictures on Instagram, so make sure to follow me there @caitlynnescagel and make sure you check out my videos that WILL be up next week. I know that I have been horrible at posting videos, and I am so sorry for that, but I have been crazy busy, and unlike with the blog, I can't preload any videos onto YouTube. With the blog, I can knock out five or six posts in a day and then preschedule them, but with Youtube, not only do i have to edit all the videos, but I can only post them one at a time, so if I am crazy busy on that day, I can't know when I will be able to upload. It really sucks, but that is why my videos have been all over the place lately. Next week, because I will officially have my blogging area set up, I will have videos up every day that I can manage. 

I hope that you continue to follow me on my social networking sites because that would mean the world to me! I am just starting out, so I am trying my hardest to do what I can for you guys. And I know that my pictures are horrible quality, but if you stick with me for about nine more months, I will have a brand new camera and tripod and lights and everything set up, so I will be able to give you amazing, high quality videos. So please keep reading and comment, subscribe, like, whatever you have to do to support me as a blogger and vlogger. 

I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I can't wait to show you the amazing things I am about to get up to!

Warm wishes. 

My Sick Little Child

Hello all,

So as you probably already know, a few weeks ago, my little HelperBaby was very sick. So had a fever and was uncomfortable in everything and was cranky and needed lots of hugs and snuggles and medicine. This is just a little post about what I do when the little one is sick. I hope this helps you. *** Go check out my disclaimer sections please***

First, I fill the bath with nice, warm water, with the Johnson and Johnson's Soothing Vapor Bath. This is what I use to wash HelperBaby as well. I find that it really clears up her nose and she has a lot more pep after a bath in this stuff. I also use a baby vapor rub, but it isn't pictured here because I couldn't find it this time. 

Next, we throw our toys that we want to play with into the bath. 

While she is doing that, I throw her pjs and her towel into the dryer and put it on sensor dry. By the time the sensor catches up with the machine, it will be about time to get Penguin out of the tub and into the nice warm towel and pjs. (My washer and dryer are in the SAME ROOM as the bath. I did not leave her unattended, I promise.)

I then give her some White Grape Tylenol for cough and cold for infants. Ages 0-23 months. I give her one does according to her weight and that will be able to work its magic so that she shouldn't be coughing or have a fever by the time she goes to bed. 

This is her sitting patiently on the edge of the tub waiting for the water to fill up. She is so sweet. 

This is her nose aspirator. It is battery powered, and I find that it works the best. She doesn't like it all that much, but neither would I. But it is what is best for her so we can all sleep through the night. 

I give her a gummi multivitamin everyday, but when she has a cold, I stop the multivitamin and pump her full of Vitamin C and D. 

This is just regular Vasaline that I use on her bum and her lips and nose, if needed, because when she gets sick she gets little itchy rashes everywhere. And no, I don't use the same tub for her bum and her face. it is simply the same product. 

This is her having a ball in the bubbles. 

Washing herself. 

Then, because i don't want her sickness to become worse, and also because if I don't dry her hair before she goes to sleep, it becomes a horrible ratty mess in the back, I blow dry her hair on low, alternating between the warm and the cool so that she never gets too hot or too cold. 

That is the tube of Vasaline.

Now that we are all clean and dry, we get into our nice warm pjs, and we are ready to brush our little teeth and go to sleep!

I hope you guys enjoyed this little routine. I hope to see you soon, and let me know what medicines and remedies you use for your children! Have an absolutely amazing day and I will talk to you later!

Warm wishes. 

The Dresser: Part Two.Two

Hello all!

***I need to start saying this before all of my posts really get started, make sure you go and check out my disclaimer tab and my credits tab so that you know that I am legit and that I am not trying to do anything crafty or bad. Just my opinions and thoughts. ***

So today, I wanted to share with you the look we achieved with some items in our guest room. This is a continuation of the dresser post from yesterday, of me refinishing the dresser. This is more of a "what is going in and on the dresser" post, so that is why is is in the Reduce, Reuse, Reorganize section of my blog. These are all things that I had in my house and I simply repurposed, aka, didn't use myself, even though that is what they were intended for. (Also, side note, you will notice that the leave in conditioner that I talk about is not actually a full size or a travel size bottle of the real conditioner. That is because the bottle is an emptied out Downy Wrinkle release spray bottle, from Walmart, that I washed out thoroughly and filled with my leave in conditioner. Just one more way this is a RRR post) 

 The last installment will be to show you the finished room, obviously, so for now, this is a post on some of the knick-nacks and decor we will be using as well as an update on the furniture situation. 

Here we go!

To start out, this is the dresser now:

These are all things I had in my house already to put into the guest room. 

The first thing is I put some of Ella's baby oil with aloe vera into one of the oil bottles from a set that I got from my great grandmother (on my mom's side). They are so beautiful and delicate and the set really reminds me of old world romance and sophistication, so I wanted to bring a little of that into the very bold, modern colors of the guest room. The second oil bottle I filled with Aromatherapy oil from Fruits and Passion. There was a lot left in the bottle because I only used this once. The scent is not my favorite, but it is pleasant, and I found it helped me go to sleep, so maybe my guests would enjoy a little tap of aromatherapy on their wrists before they sleep. 

The third container in the series is a squat, wide container that was probably used for powder back in the day, but I simply poured a whole bottle of back up lotion I had in my closet. It is lavender scented, which is calming, and I enjoy this Aveeno lotion because it is smooth and well scented. Again, something great to use before bed or before a cup of relaxing tea on the elbows, and knees. 

This next lotion is amazing. I got it from Winners and I have no idea what the brand is, I will try and find out for you guys! It is in the scent snow gardenia, and I am obsessed with gardenia at the moment. it is just so luxurious and lovely, and the bottle went with my white and gold with a hint of black theme. I just loved the packaging and the scent and the pump. Everything about it is perfect to me.

The next two items (pictured together) are two lavender mugs that I picked up at Winners for $4! 

Now, a little random background and info,when I started this project, I was thinking that the guest room would have that light and airy Martha's Vineyard, upper Vermont feel to it. I wanted it to be very light and refreshing and relaxing to be in, with a hint of subtle glamour and a huge helping of relaxation. I wound up going in a very different direction. The room is still very calming to me, but I did some fun things with the bedroom layout and even the mirrors and the hooks and the decor is very unique and very me. 

I have been told that when people are around me they feel very calm and relaxed, and that when I am working, I have this calm "zen' energy about me. I like that. And I wanted people to feel ME when they stayed in my home. I wanted little touches of my childhood and my passion and my laid back personality. So, I went to a very pretty grey for the walls, with royal purple accents, white furniture and hardware, and little tiny black accents throughout the room. 

These mugs really reflect where i wanted the room to be, back when we first started. And I still think that they are quite pretty, and I enjoy looking at them, so I figured I would keep them n the guest room, especially because I don't really have any other mugs that I want to put in there right now. Though, now that i think about it, I do have a really nice set of black mugs with coasters from David's Tea that I really don't use because I prefer my prettier mugs. So I will start another poll. If you want to help me decorate my guest room, vote on the sidebar! Black simple mugs, to bring a little more of that black into the theme, or keep the white and lavender mugs? Vote vote vote! (I will post pictures from the David's Tea website so you can see the black mugs, and the lavender mugs side by side after I publish this post!)

So these next two things are self explanatory. I found this lavender floral printed candle that smells like roses and peonies to me at Winners as well. Again, while I am telling you where I found these items, these were not bought for the guest room. these were things that caught my eye, and as I "shopped my stash" for houseware items, I found them again and they just happened to fit the theme. The other two items are a ring holder, that I received from my mother ages ago, and a bowl for whatever the guest wants to use it for that I received from my husband's aunt. Both are clear glass with a floral pattern on them. 

These next products are all ones that I had bought for traveling and not used at all, so they are going into my guestroom now. I just feel like baggage prices are so freaking high right now that the less my guests have to pack, the better. And God forbid one of my guests has their luggage lost in transit, they can rest well knowing that they will have fresh breath and a clean body, as well as a little something to get rid of their headache and settle their stomach. I have added a few more things, but you will have to see those next week! 

Here we have Tresemme's Moisture Shampoo and conditioner (all of these items are travel size), a Softsoap Coconut Body Cleansing Scrub, a bottle of sexyhealthyhair Leave In Conditioner, Extra Strength Tylenol, Pepto, and Beano. As well as Crest Toothpaste with Scope and Glide Floss. I have added a few extras to this first aid/get well soon/beauty drawer, but you will have to see those next week.  

The last item on my list is this Tassimo. yes, I know you are all thinking, there is no way you had a perfectly unused Tassimo coffee maker in your hall closet waiting to be used. But, I actually did. I had this because it was our house warming present from our realtors. We have an identical black one in our kitchen, and I love it, so I am going to be putting some Earl Grey tassimo discs in there and it will be ready to go for my guests.  

So, that is what we will be putting on and in the dresser. 

Come back next week to see everything that I added and see the entire layout of the room as well as the other furniture we refinished and the extras we added. 

Warm wishes! 

The Dresser: Part Two.One

Hello lovelies!

This is a contuniation my my last DIY post. This is what the dresser looks like now that it is all painted and ready to go. Tomorrow I will be posting Two.Two of this post in the Reduce, Reuse, Reorganize section showing some of the things I will be putting in or on the dresser, decor and toiletries for the guests. This is a simple post on the furniture so far. 

This has been a very fun and very challenging project. It turns out, I am not a painter. At all. My work looked so bad! I am a great sander, and a great furniture lifter, but when it comes to painting, my husband is actually the one to go to in the family apparently. He has been working his butt off in every area of the house and I could not appreciate him more, but it has definitely been long days and hard work! 

This is the second installment of this three part blog post. 

This is the dresser right now:

Isn't it gorgeous?! This was so fun and still pretty inexpensive. We got a quart of basic white wood paint, we didn't need anything fancy. That was about $20 CND at Home Depot. (PS: They are so helpful there! They answered all of my questions and they are always so nice!) And then we picked up a kit of 10 knobs with screws in Walmart for $10 CND. They are perfect. I love them. 

We also needed some wood fill because the dresser only had single knobs before, and the new knobs were double-screw knobs or U-shaped knobs, as you can see. So my husband filled in the old holes, sanded and then painted a thin coat over. He then drilled two new holes where the screws were going to go, and then screwed the handles in tightly. We also paid about $6 for some drawer liner. The bottom of these drawers were horrible. so I cleaned them as best I could, but the wood still looked bad, so we simply cut the drawer liner to fit the shape of the drawer, and smoothed it out over the bottom of the drawer. 

The dresser will sit for this whole week with nothing on it so it doesn't ruin the paint, and then it will be ready to fill with amazing things! 

We also refinished the bookcase and the entire bed frame.  We used a 1 inch, thin bristle brush to do the edges and a microfiber mini roller to do the main body of the painting. Next week, make sure you come back so that you can see the whole package wrapped up and ready for my best friend to come and stay with us. 

I hope this filled you in a little on what I have been p to that has kept me so darn busy and I hope to see you next week! Make sure to swing by tomorrow and check out some of the things I will be putting in and on the dresser. 

Warm wishes

Turkey and Bean Chili

Hey everyone! 

It feels like ages since I have come and talked to you guys! I hope you have been anxiously awaiting my next post ;)

I wanted to share a recipe with you with is my go-to chili recipe. The thing I love about this chili is that this has so many staple items (for our family) in it that I can literally defrost my meat (either in the morning before I start my day, or in the microwave for about 4 minutes) and throw this chili together. It is also great because you can use ANY type of ground meat (or soy meat, tofu, vegetarian ground "meat") and I mean any type! I have done this with chicken, beef, pork, turkey, and lamb! The lamb one was the most interesting, but it was rwally delicious still! This is a super fast, no mess chili that is whipped together in half an hour and gives you time to spend eating and being with your family! 

No more babbling at you and let's get going!

Turkey and bean Chili

1 red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
200mL of chili sauce (it's basically ketchup with spices and onions and peppers in it, you don't have to add this, I just needed to use mine up)
1 (369mL) can tomato sauce
1 (540 mL) can navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 (796mL) can diced tomatoes
1 (540 mL) can red kidney beans
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp marjoram
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp masa (this is just to thicken the chili, you can use a slurry of cornstarch if you want, but masa is so versatile and handy to have in the house)

Heat pan to medium heat. Add oil and let heat for 30 seconds. Add in your chopped onion, peppers and garlic. Saute for five minutes. 

Add in your ground meat. Cook all the way through. Meanwhile rinse the beans and mix them together in the strainer. Let them drain and then once your meat is cooked all the way through, add them into your pot. 

Add all your spices and salt and pepper if you would like to. I add the s&p at the end. But to each his own. Next, add in your chili sauce, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes (if you don't want to have to thicken your chili at the end, you can drain the diced tomatoes and just add in the pieces). Mix everything together and let it simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. 

Then add in your masa and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. And your chili is ready to eat! You can dress it up or down, add in avocado, sour cream, onion, or jalapeno, or put it over chips with velveeta cheese if you want, it's all up to you! That is the beauty of this chili You can easily double or triple this recipe, or cut it in half, if you have a small family, and freeze the other half for later in the month. It is so simple yet versatile.

Have fun with it! Make it sweet by adding a couple tablespoons of agave or honey, or make it spicy by adding in a chipotle pepper! Make it savory by adding ancho chili powder and cocoa powder for that authentic taste. You can eat it with Fritos, or Doritos, or Tostitos, or even home made tortilla chips! You can put it over rice, a baked potato, rice, or quinoa. Add yogurt, sour cream, a splash of heavy cream, or shredded cheese. or so non-dairy and add guacamole and cilantro and fresh tomato slices. Do your thing and everyone around you is sure to love it! (The pan in the background of that picture is not dirty, it is just a weird light thing, I don't know why it looks like that, I just hadn't put it away yet.)

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and I hope to see you again soon! 

Warm wishes! 

My life Randomness right now...

Hello everyone! 

OMGOSH! Several things.

#1 I get to see my BFFL in four days!!!! FOUR!

#2 My hubby has been working his BUTT OFF to finish the basement, which means that soon, I will have my blogging area back, and I could not be happier.

# 3 This means I will have my XBOX (oh, hello Two Worlds 2, do you come here often?) and my television back (Nigella and Jamie, I miss you so much).

#4 I get to see le BFFL in FOUR days. I don't believe I mentioned that.... #5 Our Easter was great. I did everything on a budget that cost a total of $36 for all the basket, candy, wine, and presents for our family. I reused bags and tissue paper and pulled cards out of my stash to pull everything together. I even made Ella a princess costume for her present! I was very excited.

#6 Because BFFL is coming into Ottawa on Friday, I am going to try out my BECCA primer and my Lancome foundation samples that I got from Sephora a few weeks ago. I hope they work and I am so excited to try them.

#7 Also because BFFL is coming, I get my DIVERGENT PALETTE!!!! My mom was MOM-MAZING and got it for me, and she is bringing it with her to Canada, so I promise lots and lots of reviews and tutorials. We will be filming a haul together and I will be doing BFFL's make up with the new palette. 

#8 BFFL will be able to see the church we are getting married at and the reception location, as well as the location for the afterparty! 

#9 I think I found the salon that I am getting my hair, make up and nails done at for my wedding! So excited! 

#10 I actually don't have anything here... I just liked having ten things, so I will say a silly one.... I love my little baby girl! She is so cute! 

I hope you all have an amazing day and I can't wait to talk to you again! 

Warm wishes!