Cupshe Swim Haul

The post Cupshe Swim Haul appeared first on Our Bella Life.

What better way to wrap up 2020 than with a year in review blog and talking about my new favorite things!  I’d like to start writing these monthly, giving a more personal and in depth look at our life and sharing some things that I’ve come across that have improved my life in some way. […]

The post December 2020 appeared first on Our Bella Life.

Happy New Year and thank you for being part of OurBellaLife!

In today’s podcast we look back on the dumpster fire that was 2020 and talk about what lay ahead for us in 2021!

Have a question or topic for our next podcast? Leave us a voicemail, or comment below!

Starting the year recovering from a gluten challenge (me, Bryci) and straight into covid, this year seemed like it was going to be full of changes and it definitely was.  We decided to buckle down on our blog here, and have put in countless hours in the backend so far.  Work is really no fun when you can’t actually see the changes!  But the site layout is better, it’s running faster, registrations and comments are now open again.

What were some big things 2020 brought us?

From being at home all the time, it really helped us appreciate the small things in life, and realize that they’re what’s most important at the end of the day.  Good relationships, people to spend time with.  Even fur buddies, we saw so many people adopting animals for some companionship.

I’ve been teaching myself how to cook, and batch cook.. all very lazy minimal recipes because I’m the kind of person that can add paprika and feel like a chef.  If you haven’t been following our insta stories, that’s where I’ve been posting the majority of my recipes.  Don’t worry though, I do plan to list my favorites here to share with you all, and I’ve even roped James into helping me with some food porn photos.

Thankfully summer 2020 in Western Canada didn’t have any fires close to us so we got to enjoy mostly clear skies.  A few years back almost the entire summer was a dark grey haze of forest fire smoke.  So we spent a lot of time outdoors hiking with the dogs this spring/summer/fall.

For some reason I’ve been feeling very Marie Kondo the entire year, and donating a lot of things that admittedly I’d rather not be dusting anymore.  I’ve managed only to buy a few more plants, and kill none so I’d say that’s a success so far.  Live greenery really seems to up the mood when you’re stuck inside all day.

I got hit hard with the blues this year, as I’m sure a lot of people did unfortunately.  That means spending a lot of time working on my mental health with meditation, making sure to get outside for some fresh air and sunshine, get some yoga back in (you’ll be amazed at how great you feel after a simple 20 min practise at home).

The aerogarden trend also happened at our house, my mom turned her entire basement into an indoor garden so I’d say I didn’t fall too far down the DIY gardening hole in comparison.  We are planning on building some raised planters in the backyard this upcoming spring for something else to keep busy with outside.

We were both pretty nonplussed with Christmas in 2020, we don’t have much family so it wasn’t really different than any other year for us in those terms but it definitely just felt like any other day.  Our Christmas lights went up in early November though because hey, pretty colors can only improve things right?  Read about our December 2020!

Can’t forget about the art!

Throughout the year, but mostly in winter a lot of time was spent on art and trying new things.  I’ve explored some minimal ballpoint sketches, some ipad procreate drawings, and quite a lot was sent to new homes via our etsy (which soon will be here on our website in a new shop)!

Clay sculpting came next, shoutout to sculpey because that stuff makes you feel like a pro right from the start.  You definitely need some extra tools to start off with though but not many.  Some sculpting tools, clay of course, an artist set of glues and glazes that you don’t think you will need but end up needing.  Plus something to roll it out, and something to protect your desk.  You can use parchment paper for that, and even toothpicks for drawing details if you’d like to skip buying the tools.

I really recommend Ace of Clay on youtube, I enjoyed watching what he creates and learning new techniques from him!

How about for 2021?

For 2021, all we really have planned is to focus on improving our work/life balance, and putting more time into projects that we always would push off because of responsibilities getting in the way.  When I say projects, of course I mean of the creative type.  We’re planning to do a big photoshoot monthly with a gorgeous print available in monster sizes. There will also be vlogs and extended how-to videos.  Not to get too far into details, you’ll just have to stay tuned.

What are you hoping you’ll see out of 2021?

Transparency: The Amazon links listed above were created using our affiliate code, supplied by Amazon. If you purchase any of the products we link to, Amazon pays us a commission for referring you to them. This is at no extra cost to you. You still pay the same low Amazon rate.  Read our disclosure for more info.

The post Our 2020 and What It REALLY Taught us! appeared first on OurBellaLife.

I’ll say it, I am not a morning person.  I stumble through making tea or coffee just to wake up, and usually I am lucky enough to have my husband bring it home for me instead.  Thinking about making breakfast is just not on the table.

This year though I’ve been focused on cutting out processed foods and have been coming up with the laziest easiest healthiest recipes.  They require very few ingredients that are usually whole food.  So after a few tries with dinners I decided I needed a breakfast fix.

That’s where these no-bake protein cookies come in.  I plan to try out many different ingredients in the future to change them up, if you have any suggestions let me know in the comments.  For this recipe I let my inner kid out and went for chocolate.

In 15 minutes (that’s prep and “cook” time combined) you’re ready to eat some guilt-free cookies for breakfast, lunch, or as a midnight snack if that’s more your style.

Gluten free and dairy free, but feel free to switch out ingredients to your favorites!

Ingredients:

• 1 scoop protein powder (I used chocolate)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup plant milk (I used oat but use your favorite)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I loved these with a fancy salted caramel peanut butter!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/3 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

Grab a medium bowl and mix the protein powder with your oats.

In a sauce pan over low heat, melt together your peanut butter, milk and honey.  Pour over your oat mixture and combine.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the medium bowl and combine.  Set the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes to cool and make spooning them into cookies easier.

Cover a cookie sheet in parchment paper and spoon out cookie sized portions.  You’re done!

These can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months, but keep them in the fridge for easy  grabbing in the morning.

Goodies you’ll need:

If you liked these cookies, check out my Lazy Easy Meal Prep video!

Transparency: The Amazon links listed above were created using our affiliate code, supplied by Amazon. If you purchase any of the products we link to, Amazon pays us a commission for referring you to them. This is at no extra cost to you. You still pay the same low Amazon rate.  Read our disclosure for more info.

The post No Bake Protein Cookies for Breakfast appeared first on OurBellaLife.

Thankfully it’s been a pretty mild winter here in Western Canada, and it’s almost over.  It feels like spring and that reminded me that I haven’t done a monthly life update since December.  The winter months are cold and dark, and especially with covid restrictions still in place we haven’t been going out much.  Spending most of our time netflix and chilling, we’ve been binging some shows and checking out new television apps.  Quick little dog walks to wander as we call it, since our tiny chihuahua wants to be held while we explore anyway.  Jack is a senior with arthritis in his little doggy knees, so we don’t go far when it’s cold.

We also hit a HUGE milestone on youtube, thank you to everyone who’s subscribed!  It’s blowing our minds, and definitely inspiring us to create some fun new content.

We’ve been working on the blog, beefing up older vlog posts with photos and more information as well as working on the shop and some other things in the background.  Isn’t that always the way, the most work is the behind the scenes that no one sees but is always crucial.

Let’s jump into the new favorites!

Favorite Direct Message:

  Ok, we get a lot of great DMs on our instagram and twitter, but this one not only was so sweet and genuine, it came at the perfect time.  We’re constantly struggling to toe the line between keeping platforms happy, and being true to ourselves.  We love creating content in an open and honest way, showing people we shouldn’t be too shy to talk about relationships or sex.  Often though we clean things up in a way that keeps the censors at bay.. you know what I’m talking about if you’ve listened to our podcasts.  Spicy wording is interesting to come up with, and sometimes we just fail hard.  This DM came when we were feeling so frustrated with censorship, that it inspired us to keep going.  So thank you to everyone who sends us kind DM’s!
(Follow us on instagram.com/ourbellalife and twitter.com/ourbellalife)

Have a question or topic for our next podcast? Leave us a voicemail, or comment below!

Favorite buy: Glerups

These unisex boots are meant for comfort and warmth which has been great for indoor relaxing.  They are made from felted wool so they keep your feet warm and dry.  The soles come in two versions: leather or rubber.  I chose the rubber for two reasons.  First they were reportedly warmer than the leather, second that they would be great for road trips or camping where leather soles wouldn’t work well.  They have slip ons, shoes, or boots and many different colors.  Glerups are a cult favorite for a reason, and they’ll last you forever.

Favorite Life Hack: Eucalyptus in the shower

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and finally got around to it.  It’s so cheap, just head over to your local plant nursery or florist and ask for a sprig of fresh eucalyptus.  It cost about $6, they gave me some nice twine to tie it up to the showerhead, and now my shower smells amazing every morning.  I’m unsure how long it will last before it dries out, but even the green vibes are so calming.

Favorite New Food: Bonne Maman Preserves

I grew up eating raspberry jam on buttered toast, and grabbed this Bonne Maman raspberry jam after seeing a few people talk about this jam specifically on instagram as the “anti-nazi jam”.  I mean, just look at the ratings on amazon!  Not only is this stuff so yum, it’s got a sweet story behind the family that makes it.

(Click anywhere on this tweet, it’ll open a new tab with the entire twitter thread so you can read the full story.)

Incident in a NJ Supermarket

At the supermarket today, I found a small, elderly woman standing in front of a high shelf holding @BonneMamanUS preserves. She was having trouble finding the flavor she wanted because the jars were set back on the shelf.

— Michael Perino (@ProfessorPerino) February 14, 2021

Favorite Youtube Channel: TenHun

Alright, the TenHun youtube channel isn’t new to us but catching up on all his videos has been great over the winter.  He also just hit 500k on youtube!  If you’re into art, or just enjoy watching good youtube videos you’ve got to check out Peter.  He’s a self taught artist who creates eye candy videos of him creating new art, you’re just going to have a good time.  I love one of his newest videos (shown below) because this project is leading me to find many new youtube artists I hadn’t seen before.

That’s it for now, I’ve already got some new goodies to talk about in the next life update blog that just arrived… stay tuned!

Transparency: The Amazon links listed above were created using our affiliate code, supplied by Amazon. If you purchase any of the products we link to, Amazon pays us a commission for referring you to them. This is at no extra cost to you. You still pay the same low Amazon rate.  Read our disclosure for more info.

The post Winter Roundup appeared first on OurBellaLife.

It’s been a while, sorry about that!  I was struck with the want to show you how beautiful it was when we were out adventuring in the forest, and all I had on me was my iphone.  I’m telling myself it lends an authentic real life quality to the vlog.

James wanted to snap some photos of the jeep and I just love wandering around hiking in nature so off we went.

A couple packages from online therapy/shopping were waiting for me when we got home and I thought I’d bring along my iphone for an old school try on vlog.

Love the jeans, time to look for a tailor.  Curvy problems.

Included in a seperate package was a piece of art that I bought myself, a sculpture this time.  A glass, dripping, fried egg.  It’s so shiny, gorgeous, and you definitely need one.  Check out the artist on etsy, she will even customize your egg!

The post Exploring and a Try On Haul appeared first on OurBellaLife.

Day dates, whether you are with someone or even by yourself, can be such an important part of life.  Taking a break from your usual day to day stresses can help things like sleep, anxiety and just your general outlook.  With restaurants shut down right now, grabbing some take out with your favorite food and finding a place to relax and eat is an easy way to get away from life and take a breather. Our favorite food?  Usually tacos, […]

The post Check out our view! appeared first on OurBellaLife.

Being both a minimalist and frugal, it takes a lot for me to buy something new.  The Oculus Quest 2 though has been completely worth it, and blows my mind every single time I use it. I originally bought the unit entirely for art purposes, because painting or sculpting in 3d meant I had unlimited colors and materials at my fingertips.  It also brought my art into a brand new niche that just isn’t possible with conventional materials. Now don’t […]

The post 5 reasons you NEED the Oculus Quest VR appeared first on OurBellaLife.

Lately my days have included some no-bake baking and since I love using up ingredients so they don’t go to waste, I wanted to give this recipe a try.  Should I have read the 1-star reviews before proceeding?  Sure.  Did that happen?  Of course not.  Did it make for a fun vlog though?  YES! I enjoyed making these, and I hope you’ll enjoy the short vlog of us trying out a new recipe and failing.  James is always appreciative of […]

The post Baking FAIL! Busted Banana Balls appeared first on OurBellaLife.

Unless you live in the forest, all homes need maintenance.  I enjoy being self reliant plus saving money is always a bonus.  Growing up I wasn’t taught many of these things, so I decided to teach myself how to unclog the scary shower drain.  Can’t be that hard right? Off to amazon I go to look for some solutions.  I had seen a plumber using a snake drain before, but theirs was electric and those cost big bucks.  Hopefully this […]

The post Life Hack! DIY Plumbing Fix appeared first on OurBellaLife.