Meet my newest bikini discovery — Soulstice Swim. They are a gorgeous Canadian company, who really know what’s up when it comes to swimsuits. Totally obsessed with their brand, and not to mention the founders of Soulstice are probably the cutest people I have ever met. Soulstice is all about exploring, traveling, and finding new places to cross of our bucket lists. This speaks directly to my heart, as I find travelling to be one of the most rewarding cultural experiences you can possibly have. Want to go on an adventure? I’m your girl. 

I am also a major sucker for anything pink, so obviously I had to have this Kali top and these Jessy bottoms both in the “Bloom” print. It is definitely my favourite print they sell so far. 

Want to pick up your own little piece of adventure at Soulstice? Click here to check out their other cheeky suits! 

x,

This. Recipe. Though.

I am obsessed. 

It is so good it is almost impossible to stop eating. Often when I cook I make bigggg portions, then use the leftovers for a few meals after (because, laziness.) This time was no exception. I made a huge bowl of my Mushroom + Arugula Quinoa with plans of keeping it for leftovers. Needless to say, leftovers didn’t end up happening. Licking the plate? That may or may not have happened, but a lady never tells. (K fine I licked the plate. Sue me.) 😉

This Mushroom + Arugula Quinoa is the perfect meal to make if you have a big batch of quinoa/brown rice leftover. So simple, and ohhhh so flavourful. 

Here are the ingreds:

• ¼ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tsp of finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 cups (ish) of crimini mushrooms
• 2 cups cooked grains (brown rice or quinoa are best, I used TruRoots Organic Sprouted Rice and Quinoa Blend)
• 2 handfuls of baby arugula
• Fresh ground pepper
• Salt
• Grated parmesan cheese for topping

Let’s get crackin’. 

Step 1: Prep all your ingredients. Cook your grains if they are not already cooked. Then, wash and slice your mushrooms and get the garlic & thyme ready.

Step 2: Cook mushrooms, garlic, and basil in a medium heat pan with a few glugs of EVOO until they are softened and browned. The mushrooms will start to squeal (yes, squeal…) so listen carefully. When they do this they are almost done! 

Step 3: Transfer mushroom and basil mix to large bowl with quinoa and arugula in it, and stir to combine. Add lots of salt and black pepper.

Step 4: If you know what’s good you will smother this beautiful mixture in parmesan cheese. 

This dish makes a fannnntastic lunch or dinner. It tastes freakin’ bomb, so you should probably go and make it, like, yesterday.

Enjoy!! 🙂

x,

My goal here at Skinny Belle is to share my favourite tips and tricks on how you can live your best possible life. A big part of being your most beautiful and exuberant self is feeling HAPPY! A smile is worth a million bucks, and in the famous words of Audrey Hepburn, “I believe that happiest girls are the prettiest girls.”

So today I bring you Skinny Belle’s 5 Simple Ways to Be Happier. These are all things I do in my everyday life, and have found to put me in an awesome positive mindset. When you set out to conquer the world, you want to be happy. Negativity is like a disease that brews and grows inside you and ultimately affects your outside life. Happiness is a mindset, and we are all in control of our minds. There are many things in life that you can’t control, but what goes on in that big beautiful brain of yours is all up to you!

Ladies, let’s take on the world together. And be freakin’ happy as hell while doing it. 😀

Without further adieu, here are 5 Simple Ways to Be Happier.

Eat Right

You are what you eat. Eat like shit, feel like shit. Eat like a queen, feel like a queen. What you put in your body has a serious impact on how you feel! Think about the last time you crushed a pint of ice cream or sat at home and ate a large pizza. Chances are you did not feel very happy after. When you eat a wholesome nutritious meal you will feel satisfied and happy because you know you have done something good for your body.

**To learn more on my perspective on eating, read about the Skinny Belle Lifestyle. Need some healthy recipes to make? Lurk the Skinny Belle Food section. 

Dress Well

Dress for success. Why does it matter what you wear? I dareee you to tell me you don’t feel happy when you look fabulous. (Tell me!!) Really, who doesn’t have that extra bounce in their step when they know they are looking fine AF. When you mindfully put yourself together, you will have an aura of confidence, happiness, and success about you. It feels good to look good, so take an extra minute to put together something decent to wear and happily feel like a #GIRLBOSS all day long.

Workout

I am alllll about them endorphins. Seriously, I get high on life from working out. (Yes, I am that person.) Even if it is just a power walk/jog, it feels SO good to get your body moving. You will become more alert, feel great, and have a huge boost in your mood!

“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t!”

– Elle Woods, Legally Blonde

Be Social

Hang out with positive, awesome people who make you want to be the best version of yourself. Surround yourself with only people who make you smile. After all, nobody likes a negative Nancy. Friends who just want to bitch and whine? Cut them outttt girl. You don’t need those people killing your positive vibes! The best friends are the friends who can laugh with for hours. I don’t know about you guys, but when I hang out with my besties I legit can never wipe that stupid smile off my face because they make me so damn happy.

Pump Them Tunes!

Hit up your Spotify and blast the happy tunes! I am a big fan of just throwing on a “feel good” or “girl power” playlist, and rocking out by myself. (Super cool, I am aware.) Dance around your apartment like an idiot, and feel fantastic. I legit have no shame with this haha. I cant sing, am an average dancer at best… But putting on happy songs and dancing about puts a smile on my face like no other.

A happy mindset is a mindset for success. So try these 5 Simple Ways to Be Happier, and set yourself up to feel and look great. 

Which tip is your favourite? Do you guys use any of these in your daily life already? Comment below!!

x,

It is officially that awkward time of year in Vancouver where it still feels like it is summer but the temperatures are significantly chillier. Like, it’s not quite time to be pulling out the all-black-everything winter sweater/boot outfits, but it is definitely too cold for full on summer clothes.

Hence, the magic of the sweater dress.

Sweater dresses are the perfect piece to carry you from summer to fall. And they are cozy AF. I am basically wearing socially acceptable pyjamas. And everyone knows that wearing anything that feels like pyjamas in public is pure winning.

Also can we talk about my necklace for a minute? So. Bomb. I ordered it from this sweet company in Berlin called Happiness Boutique. You can order your own by clicking here!<3

x,

Oh. Hell. Yes.

LADIES make this for your man and he will love you forever. No joke. Well I am not actually sure if that’s the case but ya’ll can test it out and let me know how many proposals happen after this meal. K? K. 

My Roast Pork Tenderloin with veggies is the perfect Sunday night dinner to cook and enjoy with a nice glass of wine or 6. 

Let’s get started. Here are the ingreds you will need:

Meat stuff

• 1 or 2 pork tenderloins
• 4 (ish) rosemary sprigs, stripped and finely chopped
• Balsamic vinegar reduction (My fave is Nonna Pia’s Strawberry Fig)
• A few generous glugs of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• Coarse ground sea salt
• Fresh cracked pepper

Veggie stuff

• 1 zucchini
• 1 yam
• Fingerling potatoes! (<– the exclamation point just felt right)
• 1 yellow onion
• 8 cloves garlic (because f it you only live once and these taste like heaven when baked)
• Coarse ground sea salt
• Fresh cracked pepper
• EVOO
• 4 (ish) sprigs of rosemary finely chopped

Babes, it’s on. Do you have your wine ready? K good. Me too. Let’s do this.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 500 F and get two oven-safe dishes out.

Step 2: Wash veggies and chop up into about 2 inch cubes. Make sure the zucchini is cut in way larger pieces than the rest (very necessary because it cooks quicker than the other veggies.) Peel your garlic, chop off the gross hard bits (lol) and throw the cloves whole into the mix. Yes, whole cloves of garlic. It will be SO GOOD trust me.

Step 3: Put all your prepped veggies into a large bowl and cover with EVOO, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Step 4: Trim all the gross white/fat/silver skin stuff off of your tenderloin babies. Place them loins (lol) in your oven-safe tray.

Step 5: Once your loins (I don’t think I will ever be mature enough to not find that hilarious) are safely in their dish, cut a few small slits into the meat and disperse big chunks of garlic into the meat. Sweet baby jesus. Now coat them with a few tbsp of that delicious Nonna Pia balsamic vinegar reduction, and rub the vinegar into the meat. Take your final ingredients (salt, pepper, rosemary) and rub them over the tenderloins. 

Step 6: Put veggies in the oven first. They will need about 35 – 40 minutes total to get nice and roasted. 

Step 7: After the veggies have already been in the oven for about 15 – 20 mins, pop your prepped pork tenderloins in there too for 20 minutes. Once 20 minutes is up, take the meat (and the veggies) out of the oven and transfer to a cutting board to “rest”, then slice and serve.

Anddd you can await your impending marriage proposal. 😉

One thing to note about my recipes is you really should tailor them to your own taste! For example, I often cook with tons of garlic and way more fresh herbs than necessary, because I love really strong flavours. But you might prefer your food to be a bit less intense on the flavour front, so adjust accordingly. 🙂

Okay but for real, you guys need to make this. And buy that balsamic reduction because it tastes so good on everything, like these Goat Cheese Figs. (<–also, yum.)

Hope you enjoyed the recipe today! Talk soons <3

x,