Welcome to 2019, you gorgeous N&Kers!

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While most others are focussing on New Year’s Resolutions posts… here at N&K, we like to do things a little differently.

First thing is first: let’s look at the importance of routine. We feel that routine rules the roost. Once we get back on the horse, many things fall into place- eating better, drinking less alcohol, watching nutritional intake, exercising more, meditating more, increasing awareness of snarky moods.

NY Resolutions are like “diets”… people think that a new year is going to automatically & magically change behaviours. People don’t think things through, don’t plan for obstacles, then fall off the wagon and say… FML, I’m going back to my old habits.

So… During the holidays, we have likely all have stopped our daily healthy routines. We have been indulging in sweets & savouries, taking lots of down time, having lots of sleep-ins. Or, maybe we’ve been the hosts of a huge family/friend gathering and the anxiety of making things perfect for the guests. Perhaps we are in retail business, so we’ve been stressed with working: making quotas, working OT, plastering on smiles…

Nals started the downward spiral in early December. I was getting ready for a performance. So, I was practicing a lot & doing late night dress rehearsals. I was going to bed late, not eating at my usual times, and not doing meal prep… I wasn’t exercising at my usual times or places so it all went to hell in a hand basket PDQ. Right now, I’m probably sleeping off the ringing-in of The New Year in NZ. (BTW, one of the first folks in the world to do so!) So when I get back into GVA, I’m going to start off by getting proper groceries, doing meal prep, and getting back into my early-to-bed early-to-rise routine. That’ll be best, & also will help me mitigate that bloody jet lag.

Kells’s routine was mucked up due to the common December cold. Usually I just power through the cold and keep it going… but this year I was exhausted and slightly feverish. So I missed one day, then a few days, then a week. Yikes! And here’s the thing, it was so easy to fall. Way to easy. I was getting pretty proud of myself for not falling…be even the mighty fall. Hahaha!

Ok…so I got a cold and I’m not going to the gym, and it wasn’t far after that, I wasn’t eating well and wasn’t drinking lots of water! And it didn’t help I made 4 types of cookies. And we all know it’s coming…holidays, cookies, turkey dinners and we plan for it…even I planned for it. I was determined not to fall but down I went.

But now its time to get back in the swing…and honestly I’m not looking forward to squeezing myself into the gym with all the new years resolutionars. But unfortunately it’s part of the process of getting back at it after the holidays, just happens to fall in January.

I just want to suggest that before you dive into the gym, work on your SMART goals and figure out your motivation (what is motivation, what’s your motivation and how does your motivation help you). Nals and I have talked about it many times in our previous posts so I really recommend scanning through those.

How about you guys? How will you get back on track?

Gabs and Grub at Glowbal Restaurant

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I was invited to a work dinner last month. When the organizer mentioned it was at Glowbal, I was sure I misheard. Never heard of Glowbal. Was it a dinner at Global TV studios? Or…?
Apparently, Glowbal has won some awards and is ‘fusion cuisine’ that is ‘stripped down to North American’ roots. It is in downtown Vancouver’s Telus Garden building. Parking is on the street or in a lot. Or, take transit.
Menu is available right at the door … which is convenient if you’re waiting in line. They have a couple of specials – lunch, cocktails hours, wine dinners.

So, we were herded off to a cosy private room upstairs. Menu was closed but it was a 3 course affair.

For starters: We could choose the Mushroom Truffle Cream soup or Caesar salad. We all ordered salad. This was crispy, bacon-y, dressed in the garlic creamery and topped with delightful curls of parm. I love a good Caesar salad. However, I find that most restaurants drench gorgeous green romaine hearts in some awful glue-like dressing. And I end up forking off the dressing to try to eat the now-wilted romaine.
Second course: I chose the Wild BC Salmon. Most others chose the short ribs. Portions were huge and hot. Seasoning was spot-on.
Third course was a deconstructed berry cheesecake. This was the bit of sweet to end the night. Each table also had assorted macaroons and other too-sweet crunchies. A thin slice of dark chocolate cake and an espresso would’ve ended the meal perfectly.
After we ordered, wait staff brought out the surprise appies – skewers of protein like satay chicken, grilled shrimp, etc. Defo delicious but also a bit odd to eat without side plates.

Wait staff were whisper quiet and quickly filled our wines and waters without asking. Their area to move around was a little cramped with 3 round tables, with half the room carved out for the slides and presenter. It was Christmas party time so whenever the doors were kept open, we could hear the din outside. I’m not sure what they could have done about the noise besides keeping the doors closed. (But during service, this is not possible.)
Ok… but what about the rest of the restaurant? Hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, muted lighting, dark wood walls made for an intimate feel, without the cramped space. There are various dining areas: outside, lounge, bar side, mezzanine and private rooms.

Kells has been here before and enjoyed it. Like me, she also thinks this is reminiscent of Purple Café. Our review is here.
Recommendation: if you like traipsing into downtown Vancouver, eating in a busy trendy North American restaurant, then Glowbal should be on your list.

Bad Ass Supercurls

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I was browsing some much-needed mascara, when I happened upon this purple goddess called 24 Hour Supercurler by Rimmel.

And guess what I thought? It’s Mascara Monday time for our gorgeOUs N&Kers!

Let’s re-state our review rules:

We bought all mascara ourselves (which means nobody is paying us).
We wear each mascara for a week.
All mascaras purchased were black, and the darkest black they had available.
Every mascara used was put on the exact same way, with only two coats. All eye makeup for the comparison pictures was exactly the same.

That’s it…there are no more rules.

Wait…maybe one more…the opinion is ours…take it or leave it. Believe it or not. These are just our 2¢.

What we want in a mascara

Lasting Curl

Staying Power

Colour

Separation

Volume

Length

Most reviews talk about these 6 points. The first 5 are important to me since I’ve got naturally long lashes².

The problem is that my durn lashes ramrod straight. So, I’ve got to bust out the eyelash curler first¹. Doesn’t matter if it’s a mascara dipped in gold. Without that lash curler, the mascara will not reach its full potential.
Application. So after curling and applying Rimmel London’s 24 Hour Supercurler, I found that the product applied quickly, without much fuss.
Curl power. This product didn’t curl my lashes very much. But, once I cyborg’ed it up¹, the mascara worked well.
Staying power. It lasted quite a while. In fact, I found that I needed to get a Q-tip in there after cleansing to ensure all the product was out. (Lots of other people experienced this as well. See some other reviews.)
Separation. That curved brush is thick and it’s got some junk in the trunk. Angle that brush around & work it for your lashes. As the product has a thin consistency, lashes were separated beautifully with no porridge-y clumps.

Colour. Yep, the colour was “very black”. See Volume as this affects appearance of Colour.
Volume. Oh sigh. Here’s where it falls short. I got length, separation, curl power, colour… do you really need volume, too? Can all 5 equally co-exist in 1 mascara? I layer my mascaras anyways, so I’d just pair it with a volumizer.

Interesting tid bit: Rimmel London gives a dupe on fake lashes here. Did this dupe work for you?Did this dupe work for you?

Would I buy again (Yes!) & would i recommend it?

For newbies this is a good starter mascara.

For the seasoned mascara-ists, you’ll have to pair with a volumizer.

Footnotes

1 Mr Nals calls me cyborg when I’m using the curler. I’ve found that when I put curler under the hair dryer for 2-3 seconds, the curl is intense and adding a good mascara suspends it in curl-perfection.

2 My lashes have lengthened and volumized with EyEnvy eyelash conditioner! Our review is available here.

Last Day of N&K Christmas: Fun stuff

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N&K’s 7 Days of Christmas

comes to an end

K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back. And if N&K win the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARE, Nellies) will get to split $2500!

And on the 7th Day…

Drumroll…

Kells & I are always up for haviNg some fun. Can you mix ‘giving back’ with ‘fun’? Yassuh!

🌲 Day 7 🌲

F u n s t u f f

St. Paul’s Hospital Lights of Hope

Stanley Park Xmas Train

Snowball Fight

Press Box Las Divas jam session to raise funds for DTES

Festival of Trees

Keithmas – rock out to Keith Richards

Canada Helps

Christmas Charities Calendar of Events

Holiday Giving: 20 ways to give back and help those in need

N&K’s Christmas: Day 6: Women

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N&K‘s 7 Days of Christmas

K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back. And if N&K are winners un the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARE, Nellies) will get to split $2500!

Kells & I Are passionate about womens issues. This is Why we chose the 3 organizations to win $2500.

Historically (& we’d say even currentLy), women have gotten The shoRT end of The attention Stick.

Health, safety & well being of us ladies is not consistently addressed.

**N&k Felt today – December 6 – was the perfect day to bring this topic to the Forefront.**

🌲 Day 6 🌲

We remember: women

**What is the big D about December 6? Here’s what happened in Quebec, Canada in 1989. 20 Years Later, a movie was made about the Events.**

Atira

DTES Womens Centre

BC Womens Hospital

Canadian Womens Foundation has tips on other ways to give

Battered Womens Support Services

My Sister’s Closet

Women Against Violence Against Women

If you are a Woman* in crisis, here are some supports:

WAVAW (Lower Mainland) 604-255-6344 or call our national toll-free line at 1-877-392-7583

Transgendered People can be at a risk of violence within relationships as well as from strangers. If you are in crisis, please contact:

https://www.translifeline.org/

YouthLine or call 1-800-268-9688

The Hotline:

US: 877-565-8860

Canada: 877-330-6366

GLBT hotline

Transline

Males can also be victims of relationship violence. If you need help or more info:

Family violence:

N&K’s Christmas: Day 5: Food

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N&K’s 7 Days of Christmas continues!

Kells & I love good food. what a surprise! Christmas is a great time for eating because

1. there are a Ton of special treats around.

2. People bust out their pastry & baking skills and go to town.

3. Pnw just got a Whole hecKUva lot colder. Frost has shown up this morning. Good food makes you feel warm, cosy & happy.

There are people who don’t have money for food, let alone special treats. It’s expensive buying all the bits n bobs for baking. And you still need a stove, electricity and bakeware! How about we look to those who don’t have as much as us… and give others the basic right to eat healthy nourishing food.

🌲 Day 5 🌲

Food

A Loving Spoonful – this organization helps folks with hiv & aids.

Food bank – call them to see What types of food they need… or just donate money so the organization can fill the gaps as they arise.

Ronald Mcdonald home for dinner – give a family the gift of your warm dinner table. Some families Are in hospital, caregiving their sick kIdlet. Maybe you can be one of the pEeps tha CHANges that.

Union gospel mission

First united church

N&K’s Christmas: Day 4: Seniors

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N&K‘s 7 Days of Christmas

Kells & I love The Christmas season. People are cheerier, more smiley & Gallant. We also love spending Time with family & friEnds.

For many folks, Christmas can be a super sad time. If you don’t have many resources or a support network, it can be extremely isolating.

Often, the focus of Christmas is Children.

Certainly, an overlooked population is our Seniors.

Imagine that you have lost your spouse or close friends to (age-related) diseases. Maybe you’re now in a care home because of your own changing health… Now you’ve lost some independence. Maybe you can’t bake or eat certain Christmas treats. Maybe your mobility is restricted, and so are your finances, so you can’t go shopping whenever you want… and you feel that you can’t spoil those peeps around you.

How about we spend some time with Seniors this year? Chances are, those very seniors spoiled you when you were a kid. And we know that they fought for us to enjoy today.

🌲 Day 4 🌲

SeniorS

Canadian Resources for Seniors

BC GovERNMENt site has some tid bits here

BC Seniors Guide

City of Vancouver Outreaching Seniors

Seniors Centres – search online for Centres in your area. Typically services are a lounge, game times, tea parties, bazaar meals, holiday gatherings.

Go Volunteer

Better At Home

Family caregivers of BC has some great tips.

Give back locally… take your neighbor-senior to get groceries to the doctors, or just go for a walk.

Elder abuse comes in many forms: physical, verbal, financial. See Seniors BC for deets

N&K’s Christmas Day 2: Kidlet Christmas

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N&K‘s 7 Days of Christmas continues!

K&I enjoy being aunties to our nieces & nephews. There are a lot of kidlets without aunties & uncles or without a lot of resources.

They say that Christmas is for kids, right? If you want to make a kidlet’s Christmas more special, take a gander at our list below.

This is not a comprehensive list. Rather, we like to bring creative and quiet organizations to the forefront.

🌲 Day 2 🌲

KidleTS

Baby

Coats

Food Bank Baby Formula & Diapers

Christmas Bureau

Northwest Wildlife Association educates teens & kidlets about wildlife in the PNW

Covenant House – opens Doors for hoMEless youth

N&K’s 7 days of Christmas Kicks Off Today

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N&K‘s 7 Days of Christmas kicks off today!

K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back.

And if N&K are winners in the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARE, Nellies) will get to split $2500!

K&I love non-human animals. So why not help the organizations that support pets?

🌲 Day 1 🌲

PetS & non-human animals

BC SPCA

Humane Society

Wildlife Sanctuary

Wildlife Rescue or this link

Recycle Christmas Trees for bird pens

Burnaby Lake Park

Critter Care Wildlife

Raptor & Owl Rehab

Northwest Wildlife Association

An app discusses how to coexist with wildlife, developed by kidlets

Wildsafe BC

Giving Tuesday

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Kells & I love shopping, looking good, eating well and just enjoying life. And, we love to give back when we can.

This year we want to feature 7 Days of Christmas Giving. And why not introduce this on Giving Back Tuesday which is today, november 27.

This is a global movement to… you guessed it: give back. What a perfect time than right after Black Friday? Giving back comes in many forms:

donating money or items

fundraising

raising awareness

giving time (volunteering)

And which charities or organizations, you may ask? Any one that you see fit, folks!

So stay tuned for our fabulous 7 Days of Christmas Giving starting December 1.