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It's raining...the third weekend in a row!
For the last few weeks the weather gods have been playing some bad games with our minds.
It rains all weekend, and then come Monday it’s gorgeous and wonderful patio weather. What Gives?
Seriously, this is the third weekend in a row it’s happened!
So of course, we’ve had to come up with some fun projects to do.
We’ve organized all our old magazines
Sorted through all our photos from Italy
Cooked several delicious meals including this amazing chicken recipe, this garlicy and scrumpitous fish, and this very diet friendly soup
It’s been amazing to eat so healthy and get to things like photos, that have been waiting for one year to get organized!
But, even though all that is really fantastic, we still want some sun!
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It’s Spring, and the travel bug is spreading like crazy! This year Italy is a very hot vacation destination. With loads of airlines having big sales, hotels offering deals, and a huge desire to get away the time is now to plan your summer vacation.
Check out these posts with great tips on what to see, where to go, and what it’s like.
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It’s May, bikini season is nearby, and we’re searching for ways to exercise that are the most fun. So fun in fact that it doesn’t even feel like you’re exercising! And we’ve found a secret!
As part of our May Fit Month we’re taking a walk every morning that’s a sunny gorgeous day. We get the most of this gorgeous summer weather and take in every morsel of sun and nice weather possible.
During the week set your alarm a little bit before your usual time. Pull yourself out of bed, grab a coffee and take a nice long walk along the lakeshore, or any other inspiring landscape.
It’s so nice to see the city before everyone has woken up. The air is still, the sun is white, and the grass is dewey. Joggers pass by, dogs are getting their morning stroll , and the boats gently cut through the waves.
And better yet, you get some time alone in the morning to find inspiration for the day, you get fit, and you get to enjoy the summer for a few minutes extra each day!
It’s the perfect way to start the day.
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Our latest Fearless and Fabulous Female Entrepreneur Series feature is Ali De Bold – co founder of ChickAdvisor.com. Equipped with a great business idea and loads of hard work she and her husband and business partner, Alex De Bold, started www.ChickAdvisor.com – Canada’s first user generated reviews community for women to share advice on their favourite products and local places. It was launched in September 2006 and has reached over 3 million women since.
How did you start your business?
I was planning my wedding out of province and was researching for hair salons and spas for the big day. It was 2004 and there weren’t any websites in Canada that had reviews for those kinds of services. In fact, most salons didn’t even have a website. My only option was to flip through the yellow pages and choose the prettiest ad – and pray I picked well. I complained to my husband that there should be a site like that where women could give each other advice and he suggested we start one!
Did you always know you wanted to work for yourself?
No. I didn’t have any specific desire to start a business. I always thought I could work equally well for myself or someone else as long as I was passionate about what I do.
What’s your typical day like?
I get up at 6:30 and go to the gym. That’s the only time I can squeeze in a workout and it helps with energy and productivity. If I’m not in meetings, I spend a lot of time preparing proposals for clients, writing articles, chatting with members in the forums, testing and reviewing new products and attending press events. I also have a strategy session with the team once a week to discuss new ideas, then do testing and tweaking until it’s ready to go live.
What was your biggest worry when you started your own company?
What if I fail? I always believed in the concept, but it’s an incredible risk to work for yourself with no safety net. I’m very lucky that my husband is my business partner. He’s a web veteran and incredibly smart, He supported us while we got the company off the ground. If I didn’t have him, this wouldn’t have been possible.
How long did it take for you to feel confident about working for yourself?
I didn’t have much time to ever reflect on that. When we started the company I was in school full time in my second year of a 4 year degree program. I worked hard out of necessity because failure wasn’t an option. I wasn’t going to drop out of school, and since money was tight, I had to get strong grades so I could get scholarships every year. I wasn’t going to let the business fail either. I don’t start something only to get a C+. I wanted an A and I really pushed myself to get that.
What surprised you the most about working for yourself?
I’m more capable than I thought. I’ve learned so much in such a short time. I would never have believed this could be possible in 3 years.
Was there a moment that you thought you wanted to quit and go back to a 9-5 job?
Never. Being an Entrepreneur is incredibly challenging and there are more ups and downs than you could imagine, but it’s all worth it. I’ve never regretted doing this and unless it was failing, I wouldn’t be able to quit.
What have you sacrificed?
Social life, sanity, lifestyle, money… a lot. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. It took a long time for my friends and family to understand that working for yourself doesn’t mean you have more free time, it means you have less. If you don’t sit down and do the job, it won’t get done. Even if you hire someone to do it, they may not come through for you and so you’ll be the one working into the wee hours to push it across the finish line. I’ve sacrificed a lot but I’ve also gained a lot. It’s a crash course in business, marketing, management, logistics, accounting.. you name it.
What advice would you give to other women who wanted to start their own business?
Start it for the right reasons. If being rich is your ultimate goal, you may be lacking the passion and vision to actually create something of value. If you are passionate about what you do, the money will come. If it doesn’t, you’ll still be happy along the way because you are doing what you love.
I also think it’s extremely important to have several mentors you can turn to for advice. I’ve learned a lot from my mentors, one of the most important being: Hire slow and fire fast. Having the right people on your team is critical. If you haphazardly hire someone you will pay for it later.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
I’d trust my instinct more. It’s so cliche, but it hasn’t led me astray. There have been cases where I’ve ignored it, whether it’s hiring someone I didn’t feel 100% confident about or entering into business discussions with parties I don’t completely trust, and inevitably I would have been better off trusting my gut.
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If you enjoyed this interview you should check out our interview with Lisa Ng – DJ, Fearless & Fabulous Female Entrepreneur and blogger at Hip and Urban Girl
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Creamy and healthy may sound like an oxymoron, but it’s possible to have both! Last night we tested out this wonderful epicurous recipe. As part of our getting bikini ready plan to eat light, eat at home and eat healthy we wanted to try a delicious meal that was also a bit creamy and rich – but still healthy!
This meal was excellent – it took about 40 minutes to cook, we loaded up on vegetables and used lighter options for cream etc whenever possible. The result was amazing – it was rich and flavourful and we felt full and satisfied at the end without feeling like we’d overindulged.
Here’s how you make this super delicious chicken with sundried tomato cream sauce for two.
Ingredients:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil; 1/2 ounce), patted dry and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
125 g light cream cheese (with 20% fat or less)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
10 sliced mushrooms
2 cups fresh spinach
10 kalamata olives
Preparation: Pat chicken dry and season with salt and black pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken with garlic, turning once, about 6 minutes total. (Chicken will not be cooked through.) Transfer with tongs to a plate.
Add tomatoes and white wine to skillet and sauté, stirring for about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, saute for 2 minutes uncovered and then cover and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Add chicken to skillet with any juices accumulated on plate and simmer, covered, until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Add cream cheese, spinach, basil and kalamata olives to skillet and bring just to a simmer.
Transfer sauce to a deep heatproof bowl or 1-quart glass measure and purée with an immersion blender until almost smooth. (Alternatively, blend sauce in a standing blender. Use caution when blending hot liquids.) If necessary, add water to thin to desired consistency, then season with salt and pepper.
Cut the chicken breast in half, serve sauce over chicken and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil.
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For most fabulous ladies May is the month we all realize it’s time to slim down, trim up and get ready for beach weather.
So what are you going to do about it?
Like all good intentions they usually only ever work out if you have a plan. So we’ve devised something that’s pretty easy to follow, doesn’t interfere with fun weekend evenings and makes you feel fit and fabulous!
Fitness:
Mondays – 1 hour with a personal trainer
Tuesdays – 30 minutes swimming
Wednesdays – 1 hour with a personal trainer
Thursdays – 1.5 hours hot yoga
Saturdays – 30 minutes swimming
Diet:
Loads of vegetables and fruits, some lean protein like salmon and chicken, also dairy like yoghurt etc. There’s no set plan for diet, but there are rules for treats!
1x week a cookie, cake or ice cream (not all 3!)
2x week 2 glasses of wine
1x week a creamy decadent dinner or restaurant meal
This simple plan is a good framework to start with. Don’t get caught up in details, and don’t trick yourself either…if you have a tendency to be good Monday to Thursday and then fall apart completely over the weekend at the buffet mix up your schedule so you don’t find yourself at the buffet every weekend. Chose another place, different friends or any other mix of things that will keep you away from your triggers.
Good luck, and let us know how your May Fit Month is going!
