Pretty little things

 Did I ever tell you that I'm a Maskcara Beauty Artist!  

Definitly sounds like a cool title.  Also sounds like you need to be a professional to have this title. Well let me tell you, any one of you can be a Maskcara Beauty Artist! You know why? Because this is the easiest makeup application you'll ever do, but with the look of being a makeup Artist! 

First, you'll need a Color match! Just send me 2 photos, one with makeup and one without makeup. That way I can pick the perfect colors for your skin tones. 

Follow these steps!

Send me your photos on IG @aka_mama_t

Once I get your picture, I'll work on your color match!

It will look sorta like this. 

Know what you put on your skin! Check out the ingredients list below! And some comparisons of other brands.

Maskcara makeup comes with easy to follow application instructions to get your perfect look! Trust me, it's easy!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=RDQMg6KIRLsgy6k&feature=share&playnext=1

Follow me over on IG too, and check out my daily stories for my easy to follow makeup application. 

I love the Cheetah HAC! You’ll see, ha!

Here are some of my very own makeup color pics! 

How long does each tin last? Well, a little goes a long way! I apply my makeup everyday and my foundation lasts just over 6 months! 

Here’s an idea 

Go ahead! Send me your photos! 

Oh!! And if you want to join my team of awesome women DM me over on Insta!

Photo cred: @emily.johnston.photography 

Mama T’s baked Empanadas

My version of baked empanadas! 

I buy these pre-made empanada dough shells at my local Walmart. I keep them in the freezer and always have them on hand for these yummy beef empanadas! 

These can be made with left over chilli (yup) or left over ground beef from taco Tuesday! 

The recipe for the beef stuffing can really be anything you like. Mine is always different. Some ingredients I do love in the mixture though would be, cumin, paprika, adobe seasoning, cilantro diced potato and black beans. (Be sure to drain excess liquid) make the day before and refrigerate the mixture over night so you can scoop in the shells cold. 

Once we have the beef mixture and dough ready, we can stuff them! 

Ingredients for my beef empanadas 

Beef mixture

Empanadas dough 

Cheese (marble or mozzarella, monetary Jack is yum too, really any you like, experiment)

Boiled eggs (cut them up to bite size)

Olives (I usually use the small stuffed ones but I only had these sliced ones today) 

Eggwash 

Baking sheet and parchment paper 

Preheat oven 400F

Follow these steps! 

Scoop beef mixture

Add cheese

Add a piece of boiled egg 

Add some olives 

Brush edges with egg wash and use a fork to press down the edges. 

Brush the full empanadas with egg wash. 

Put them in the oven for 25min or until golden brown 

These are soo good! My family eats these all up! You can put anything in them really! I also made some stuffed with hot salami and cheese! 

I usually make extra  and freeze some for easy lunches, just pop them in the microwave or toaster oven. 

Enjoy! 

New Recipe Alert!!

Ohhhh yessss! 

This recipe is now a favorite and will be added to my weekly dinners! 

Crispy cabbage! This will make it easy to up my veggies at lunch and dinner! 

Sooo easy! 

set oven to  425˚F 

1 package of coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage 

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper 

Nonstick cooking spray

1tsp of olive oil 

2 tbsp Of Everything but the bagel seasoning 

(I got mine here) 

Sea salt / pepper 

Lightly coat parchment with cooking spray 

Toss ingredients together and lay a thin layer of cabbage on cookie sheet

Cook for 15 min turning once and until cabbage is dry and edges look brown and crispy 

And there you go! A yummy veggie addition to your meal! 

Enjoy! 

Summer smoothies!

I have soo many great smoothie recipes! But for today I’ll share a few of my summer faves!!!!

Any protein shakes work for the recipes, I use my favorite shakeology. Vanilla, chocolate or cafe latte! 

What you need-

Blender or mini blender 

Frozen fruits/ veggies 

Protein shake 

Almond milk or any milk or water

Today’s fruity smoothie recipe! I enjoyed this one outside while the kids were playing! 

1 scoop of vanilla protein

 (I used vegan vanilla shakeology) 

Handful of frozen strawberries and banana 

10oz almond milk

Blend! So soo good and soo easy! 

Here are a few others I love! 

Boosted iced coffee (ok not a smoothie but cold and fresh) 

10oz coffee with almond milk 

with half a pack of cafe latte shakeology. 

Shake it up, add lots of ice! And enjoy!!

If you are looking for a balanced chocolatey smoothie, and sneaking some veggies in there haha. I have a good one for you! 

1 scoop of chocolate vegan protein powder 

1/2 cup of frozen cauliflower 

1/2 a banana 

Handful of ice 

A drop or 2 of vanilla extract

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Blend up and enjoy this balanced cinnamon roll smoothie treat! 

Ahh there are soo many combos you can do! You get loads of protein and nutrients without all that sugar. Just look at this example I found on Pinterest. 

Ummmm 28g of sugar in a Starbucks! No thanks! 

So who’s with me! Make your own smoothies for the win!!  

Follow me on IG too so you don’t miss any new blends  I try this summer! 

Have a great day friends! 

Easy meals!

Let’s talk easy healthy meals!

We all know the deal! Veggies, fruit, protein, healthy carbs! 

So how do we put it all together the best way to get the most nutrients from our meals!? I’ll show you some examples! 

Take a look at these combos. Nothing special, no crazy recipes with tons of ingredients you need up rush out to buy. Just every day foods! 

Let’s plate it! 

Here’s breakfast. Whole wheat English muffin topped with an egg, I think I might have a slice of cheddar cheese under there too. Some bacon and heck I threw in a broccoli from dinner left overs 😛. This! This is a balanced breakfast! Even better with Stonemill bread which is my favorite whole grain bread. 

Lunch! 

Another easy meal! I split the whole wheat tortilla in half because it was a big one. Stuffed it with deli turkey, cheddar cheese, mustard and lettuce. With a side of more veggies! So easy and balanced! 

Dinner! 

Protein and lots of veggies!!! Salad, cauliflower bites mm mm and grilled chicken. Soo good. And soo easy.

Eating healthy doesn’t need to be hard! Use what you have, keep it balanced and there you go! You’re eating healthy!

Now go try it! Plate those healthy meals and tag me on insta!! @aka_mama_t 

What Do You Miss

Who else is missing some of their favorite shops? I’m totally missing Marshall’s Canada, winners and homesense! I was at one of these stores weekly! Some weeks daily 🤭

Ha! 

This workout outfit was one of the last outfits I bought at Marshall’s Canada. 😎Ahhh if they were open right now they would be filled with spring and summer clothing and household decor. It’s always my go to place to shop, for one it’s a 2min drive from me and it’s a place that has things for mama and for the kids. Because who has time to shop all over the place! 

Some of this decor was purchased just the week before March break! Ha! So I had a spring change up early this year.

I haven’t been really shopping online much for spring clothing. I’m hoping the stores open up soon for that! But I have been tempted with all the instagram outfit posts ha! 

Have you been shopping online and preparing for spring/ summer? What’s the first place you’ll shop at when we are all allowed back out! 

Ohhh and I can’t forget about a nice haircut and mani pedi! Those are high on my list of to-dos when this is all over 😃 

Grocery Shopping Reality

We are close to 60 days in quarantining or self isolation or social distancing- however you wanna call it! Many shops and restaurants have been closed for months. This weekend some are easing up and finally opening their doors to the public with many health measures. I'm watching the news and people are in line ups with masks and gloves and waiting to enter and quickly grab what they need. It's stressful and can take hours as they allow only a certain amount of people in at a time. 

When the shutdowns first began, grocery pickup/delivery from walmart or grocery gateway or instacarts were bombarded with orders. Getting a slot was like a miracle! So the early weeks of the shut down, before the lineups I had to go in and get our groceries, I did larger orders at a time so I didn't need to go in as often. Thankfully our local walmart opened up more spaces and for over  a month now I have my weekly grocery pickup, just as I use to have before this whole thing began. Remember! Those calm mornings with my Tim's coffee, driving up and getting out of my car to greet the employee, make some small talk... Not now. Now it's driving around back, opening the trunk as they quickly place the bags in keeping to a maximum time they are told to get it done which I think is 5 minutes.

We live North of the city, and yesterday we picked up our produce from a local farm. No line ups, tap to pay, in and out quickly.

Grocery bills have also increased these past 2 months. I would say they have doubled, maybe even tripled in what we use to do.  We are also trying to shop local as much as we can. Starting with this local farm for produce. Getting takeout from family owned restaurants in the area.  Being so grateful that we can help these struggling businesses. 

It's a year that will go down in history in so many ways.

 Stay safe out there friends. This too shall pass. 

Home School fun or not so fun

It’s been a month of homeschooling our kids and I can’t complain THAT much. Our school has provided us with the online tools based on their grade and their teachers have been soo supportive. 

Of course some days are harder than others. I mean, homework with mom and dad! Plus the distraction of TV and toys all around! Plus tired Monday’s! 

They rather play with their toys! Thankfully we have found a good balance that works well for us. 

1-2 hours in the morning after breakfast Monday to Friday has become our routine. After that it's lunch time and Mommy gets time for herself! ha! but do we really!

I have found that since everything is mostly computer based for the kids, especially for my 8yo. I wanted some extra tools for writing skills. So amazon to the rescue ha! I got some tracing books for my JK and flash cards, a Grade 3 Math book and an Affirmation book for journal writing. Just a little bit a day to keep up writing skills.

How are you all holding up? Do you homeschool longer than 1-2 hours? For my kids age/grades I find that’s plenty of work for the day. The rest of the day is “creative” play as we call it. Playing with each other and their toys, inside and outside in the backyard. 

As I’m writing this, I realize that we have a pretty good routine going on! Adapting to back to school will be a whole other ball game! 

Yummy Easy Banana Bread

No fail banana bread recipe! Moist and yummy! (updated post here)

2 cups flour 

2-3 bananas 

1 cup sugar

1tsp baking powder 

1tsp baking soda 

3/4 cup veg oil ( I use avocado oil)

2 eggs 

1/3 milk 

1tsp vanilla 

My no mess steps below! 

1. In a bowl to blend with blender add ripe bananas, 2 eggs, and oil. Blend 
2. Measure 1 cup sugar and add to the bowl of wet mixture and blend 
3. Measure 2 cups of flour and add 1tsp of baking powder and 1tsp baking soda.
4. Slowly blend in flour to the wet mixture and blend. 
5. Add 1/3 of milk and 1tsp of vanilla to bowl

Optional - Add other ingredients like crushed nuts or chocolate chips!

Sometimes I scoop out into muffins, the kids love that. 

I use a 9x13 pan. It’s more of a banana cake! 

Bake 350 for 30 min. Check with toothpick. My oven is usually exact with 30min with a 9x13. 

Enjoy!! 

Health and Wellness INSIDE OUT

When it comes to our overall health, we can't forget about our Mental Health!



Health and Wellness 100% starts from the inside. The foods we feed our bodies, the daily choices we make, the way we speak to ourselves, how we treat ourselves, how we treat others.



I've been reading Personal Development books ever since I was a teenager! I've been working on ME, ever since I can remember. I have been to therapy to help me grow from my trauma. It’s set me free from my limiting beliefs and has helped me learn how to grow and understand that learning and growing never stops! I'm always picking up a new book, or audio book. I want to hear other peoples stories. I love being reminded that we are STRONG, and WE CAN DO ANYTHING we put our MIND to! No one is perfect, we are all just trying to live our best life. We make mistakes, then grow from those mistakes. Life will throw us a curve ball now and again. How will we react to them? Some harder than others too.



Now more than ever, I have my book selection at my fingertips! As soon as I finish one, I'm on to the next. Our minds need the training, just as much as our bodies do!

Every book I read, teaches me something new. My latest book was Mastering Your Mean Girl. And boy does my mean girl like to take a hold over me sometimes. This book reminded me to lead with love. It can get confusing at times, so I've been repeating to myself "lead with love""respond in love" . Do I always? Nope, I'm still learning haha. This is life though. Learning, growing and evolving.



Are you reading any books right now? Drop me a comment below. I'll add what you recommend to my list!

Here's my list of my current Personal Development Books!
https://www.amazon.ca/shop/aka_mama_t