Music Monday - R&B/Soul - Switching it up

Just within the past week, I've rediscovered Screamin' Jay Hawkins. A classic R&B artist. One of my absolute favourite songs of his is I Put A Spell On You. Every once in a while when I want to relax and I feel slightly down for absolutely no reason, I like to listen to something like R&B/Soul. It's not often, but when I do listen to it, it feels GREAT. It puts me in a better mood, but I still feel calm and relaxed.

While searching for more R&B and soul music, I found this wonderful playlist on Spotify. I then decided to put together a few classic songs! All in one playlist, there's upbeat, and some that have a slower tune. I hope you enjoy these songs, as I will be soon downloading them onto my iPhone so I have it with me wherever I go! Enjoy!



My Baby's Gone - The Ravens
It Rocks! It Rolls! It Swings! - The Treniers
My Story - Chuck Wills with The Royals
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' - Big Maybelle
I Put A Spell On You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Don't Let Go - Roy Hamilton
Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone
Wish I didn't Miss you - Angie Stone
Who's Loving You - Jackson 5
It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World - James Brown, Sammy Lowe
How Sweet It Is - Martin Gaye
My Guy - Mary Wells
My Girl - The Temptations
Shotgun - Jr Walker & The All Stars
Uptight - Stevie Wonder
I Want You Back - Jackson 5
All Night Long - Lionel Richie

I always find it nice to switch up the genre of music to listen to every once in a while, that way I never get tired of my favourite tunes!

Much love,
JessicaLynn

My Personal Winter Wonderland

Every year, Christmas seems to be a big deal. It's not just about the gifts that I get, but the fact that I have the chance to spend time with my family without any other worries in life. Christmas is about family, giving, and being happy. Every year around December 1st, my family and I always go on search for our Christmas tree. We buy a real tree and it makes tradition feel much better. Today I feel like talking about Christmas because the decorating task is something that I find what makes Christmas feel like Christmas. Every year for the past six or seven years, we've come up with a different theme. One year it was country, another year all santa claus ornaments. The list goes on, but this year we've decided to go with blue and silver! Everywhere I look I see those colours - and our wrapping paper even matches our theme! It was so much fun looking around the city, finding new decorations that match with out theme and rummaging through old boxes finding things that can be reused as well. The decorating has been completed for the past couple of weeks, as we like to celebrate Christmas longer than just one day. No, I don't mean Christmas morning is everyday - we basically bake holiday goodies, laugh often, shop lots, and have a blast during the preparation for the big day!

I understand that Christmas is officially over, but I thought it would be interesting to be able to share our theme of silver and blue! I decided to share the living room decor in our home, as it is one of my absolute favourite rooms to relax. Here are a few pictures of decorations, trinkets and our tree and more!

Fairy lights are everywhere!

Candles are a MUST in my home!

My favourite vintage fireplace

Hope you enjoyed this post and had a very merry Christmas! New Years is on its way, so I'll be seeing you in the new year!

Much love,

Jessica

Music Monday - My Favourite Christmas Tunes

To be brutally honest, I have been listening to Christmas music since late October. Yes, it's THAT bad. Of course I haven't been listening to it everyday... That is until mid-November came along... So as you may notice already, it my my absolute favourite time of year. In fact, it's the most wonderful time of the year, and when it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, you bet I'll be dashing through the snow! I probably get most of my Christmas music from Songza. I would strongly suggest to check out two amazing holiday playlists called "Chrsitmas Day with Michael Bublé" and "The Biggest Christmas Hits of All Time". It's such a convenient app to have. If you have never heard of it before and have been living on a different planet, Songza basically gives you a concierge in which you choose an activity, a genre of music and then a playlist is made just for you and your mood! It doesn't take up any space on you're device, and can play much more than Christmas music! There are endless options to choose from, so no worries if you don't like this playlist! Anyhow, here it is, a playlist of my favourite Christmas tunes! Enjoy!

The Drifters - White Christmas
Mariah Carey - All I want for Christmas is You
Elvis - Blue Christmas
Bing Crosby - Mele Kalikimaka
Michael Bublé - Holly Jolly Christmas
Charles Brown - Please Come Home for Christmas
Bobby Darin - Christmas Auld Lange Syng
Andy Williams - Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season
John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band - Happy Xmas (War is Over)
José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad
The Killers - Don't Shoot Me Santa
The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick
Eagles - Please Come Home For Christmas
Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby
Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone
James Brown - Let's Make This Christmas Mean Something

The list is endless, but here are just a few that I love! Perfect for Christmas morning!

Much love,
JessicaLynn

Beauty Post - Clarins Foundation

Colour - "Honey"

Within the past year or so, I have been using a lot of Clarins cleansing products. I thought it should be time to try out some of their make-up selection. I go to the local drugstore quite often, and they always have new things being released, and did I mention great service? 

Anyhow, it's been far too long since I've posted about beauty! I miss it so much! This Clarins foundation is absolutely one of my favourites! It's high end, but it is so worth it! First of all, I love the large variety of colours available. I found my perfect match and it's what I've been using for the past week or two. I also love the fact that it feels extremely lightweight on my face. Nothing ruins a foundation more than when it looks heavy and noticeable on the skin. This foundation gives off a perfect glow without discolouring or ruining the hard work that you put into applying makeup in general. Another strong point for me is that the Clarins Ever Matte foundation is OIL FREE. Thank goodness. If you are like me and have oily skin, it'll be perfect. Often after applying foundation, it's necessary to apply a powder so it's not too shiny on the skin. This, on the other hand, is perfection in a bottle. The only time I would ever use powder is if I need it to last a very long time throughout the day. Clarins is one of my favourite high end brands, and it just got even better. If you've never tried the brand before, definitely take a look! I've never been disappointed with their products!

If I can remember correctly, the price point is roughly late $20 to $30. Not too bad for a high end product that works so well!

Have you tried this Clarins foundation before? What do you think?!

Much love,

JessicaLynn

Porridge

Mixed berries

Some call it oatmeal, I call it porridge. Porridge is definitely an odd thing to talk about. I must admit, it is one of my favourite breakfast meals to eat in the morning! I love the numerous ways that it can be made. The fastest way is in the microwave, but its also fun to make it in a pot. Although it takes a bit longer to make, it's perfect on your Saturday or Sunday morning with nothing to do but relax! The reason why I decided to write a blog post about this is because there are so many different ways to make it and so many amazing benefits! I just thought it would fun to try something new and share some of my favourite ways to eat it!

For the longest time I loved to put a bit of brown sugar and milk in my porridge. It was simple and as a kid, I loved my sweets! I then thought of a few different ways to make it! First of all, I spiced up my porridge by adding fruit to it! Fresh or frozen, it tastes amazing! After eating porridge every so often, it's easy to get tired of it. Some of the best things to add are blackberries, blueberries or raspberries. I once experimented with bananas (and a bit of sugar) but found it WAY to sweet.

I then found my holy grail of porridge-land! I found a porridge recipe from a website called Blogilates (I suggest to check it out sometime)! It gives you so many different recipes to try as well as workouts and meal plans too (some which I plan to try soon)! Believe it or not, you mash half of a banana and mix it together with the oats, slice the other half and add raisins! It's so filling and tastes amazing! It's my new favourite and I'm on the hunt for more ways to spice up my porridge-filled-life. Here's a tempting photo! I would strongly suggest to give it a go!

Banana and Raisins

So now onto the amazing benefits! I'm going to be brief because it's not my main purpose - just a great add-on to this tasty dish! First of all it helps build your immune system. I don't know about anyone else, but I personally can get sick easily if I don't keep care of myself! It's also a great filler! I find that I snack quite often and when I eat porridge, I gladly avoid any cases of the munchies! I also love that it boosts your energy. If you haven't had much sleep, it's difficult to be productive throughout the day. Porridge gives you the healthy (complex) carbs that your body needs throughout the day! And lastly, the amount of antioxidants in there is crazy! I will happily accept anything that is healthy, yet delicious at the same time!

So there you have it - a breakfast idea. Quick and easy! Feel free to send me any other ideas of what you can add to porridge!

Much love,
JessicaLynn