Tuesday Tidbits (#48)

Happy Tuesday Tidbits, everyone!

I want to start off your day with some beautiful eye candy from Instagram.  Kim Byer of Paper Apron is a food writer and designer and her passion for food truly shines in these stunning photographs.  I’m totally crushing on her mad skills in both her creative recipes and wonderful eye for just the right shot.

If you weren’t in the mood to celebrate Spring before today, you will be now after taking in these beauties.

Kim is aiming to start up her blog very soon.  I can’t wait and I’ll be sure to share her new site info with you.

Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Kim! Click on the links or pics to enjoy each day on Instagram.

Another recent obsession of mine is this Asparagus and Shrimp Coconut Curry Soup.

Chris from The Cafe Sucre Farine is so creative with her dishes and this soup has all my favourite ingredients.  Everything is so fresh and the addition of mint and lime just takes it over the top.  Gotta have it!  Thanks so much for sharing this with my readers today, Chris.

And now that you’re in the mood for checking out beautiful food, take a peek at this new site for finding exactly what you’re craving most.

Whether you’re a food blogger or food lover, this site has loads of inspiration for your own kitchen.  Loving it!

Now we’ve got the inspiration, the recipes and next you’ll want to be planning your week of meals.  My friend, Jenny at The Melrose Family has launched her first ebook, The Meal Planning Game Plan and I’m all over it!  Do you want to remove the daily stress of trying to figure out what you’re cooking?  Want to stop wasting food and money? Would you like to ensure you family is eating a healthy meal each night?  If you’re saying yes to these questions, then you’ll want to use Jenny’s game plan to make your meal planning fun and freeing up time for the kidlets.

Jenny often visits my blog for her meal planning and I was thrilled that she let her readers know about my healthy recipes.  This is a game changer, folks.  Check it out here.

You’ll want to check out my new Pinterest board for Healthy Spring Recipes for inspiration as well.  So many talented food bloggers/photographers with gorgeous creations.  I get so excited every time I check out the new pins!

This Smoked Salmon Asparagus Quiche from Healthy Green Cooking is calling my name.  I can’t wait to try this!

Spring is here with all it’s beautiful flowers and rhodos and azaleas are one of the best signs. (except here at home where we had 6 inches of snow last night! ha!)  Check out this amazing 125 year old rhododendrun on Vancouver Island, Canada.  Love this site for more amazing flowering trees around the world.  They’ll make your day!

I found another cool colouring page, you guys!  More and more adults are confessing to the fact that they love to colour as a form of relaxation and I’m loving it!  I discovered how much I enjoyed it when my niece and nephews were young and I continue to play at it now that they’ve tossed the crayons.   Animals, abstracts and just about anything you want here.

If you’re like this adorable sheep and craving the sunshine, click here for more photos that are guaranteed to give you the warm fuzzies when you see nature illuminated by the sun.

And if you’re wanting to spend some time in the sunshine with the kids, here’s some great tips on container gardening.

This site will give you lots of tips on growing vegetables in containers.  If each child is assigned their own container, I’m guessing they’ll take very good care of it.  What a great way to encourage our future gardeners!

As the weather finally begins to warm up, we’re also going to have to deal with the arrival of pesky insects.  Did you know that if you use a combination of natural oils, they can be a natural repellant?

Check out this site for some help on creating your own natural insect force field.

If you pride yourself on your proficiency in the English language, give this site a visit and see how many words you recognize.  These are The New York Times 50 Most Challenging Words.

I didn’t keep track of my score but I surmised that I am not the wordsmith I thought I was.  Ha!

Whenever you’re needing inspiration you may want to visit the site, Inspiration Peak, for quotes, stories, and poems.  This one caught my attention and I thought you would enjoy it.

You Learn  Veronica A. Shoffstall
	After awhile you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn’t mean possession and company doesn’t mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of an adult not the grief of a child. And you learn to build your roads today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have ways of falling down in mid-flight. After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure that you really are strong and you really do have worth and you learn and you learn…

If you’re a regular reader here, you know I have a thing for outdoor showers.  There’s something so uber-luxurious about them that I just can’t resist.

If you love these as well, you’ll want to visit this site to see more.

I know I usually end Tidbits on a high note but this video is another obsession of mine lately.  If you think about the true meaning of the song, it is uplifting but it’s also a tear-jerker so if you’re at the office, save it for home or your lunchbreak!  Cheers 🙂