There are so many fabulous bloggers out there, and we want to highlight them on Cityline.ca. We’ll be profiling different lifestyle bloggers from month to month — they might write about food, fashion, beauty, décor, parenting, entertaining, gardening, you get the idea! For November 2014, we're putting the spotlight on A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. Run by Jo-Anna, her blog combines her love of home décor and DIY with her passion for cooking and baking, all while living in the suburbs of Calgary. Here's our Q&A with Jo-Anna: When did you start A Pretty Life in the Suburbs and what was the inspiration behind starting the blog? How did you come up with your blog’s name? My mom introduced me to blogging in October 2011. I had never heard of blogs up to that point, but I found the idea of having a space of my own on the internet so intriguing! I've always loved to create, share and exchange recipes and ideas with friends, so the thought of having a platform to share content every day was amazing to me! So the next day I sat down at the computer and started my blog! When I started my blog and was deciding on a name, I didn’t really know at the time what my niche would be, but I live in the suburbs and love to inspire people to live a beautiful life, so I put the two together and came up with the name. Much to my surprise I discovered that I loved blogging, and haven’t stopped since, and that was 3 years ago. On your blog you write a variety of different posts, discussing everything from food to décor. What do you like about covering different topics on your blog, and how do you find a common thread to bring all of your posts together? My blog covers a number of different topics with everything from recipes, to craft tutorials, to organizing tips, to room makeovers, and I like it that way! I have never wanted my blog to focus on any one topic, because we're all multifaceted in our lives, and I feel that the variety of topics is more consistent with real life. My real life includes feeding a family, decorating for the holidays, finding ways to organize and make life just a little less hectic. So when I make a great recipe or a simple wreath for the door, I know my readers will love both! Tell us about a post (or two!) that you’re particularly proud of and want to share with Cityline.ca readers. I love my Herb Roasted Pork with Brown Sugar & Rosemary Roasted Butternut Squash & Apples post. We love this recipe so much, but I really love this post because I have such fond memories of cooking in the fall. Fall is my favourite time of year for cooking and baking, and this post takes me back to a nice and cozy time. I also really love my Turtle Cookies post. I love cooking, but baking is where my real passion in the kitchen is. And this post makes me want to reach through the screen and help myself to some delicious cookies, so I hope it does the same for my readers! What do you hope readers get from visiting your blog? My motto is Home Life Made Simple. I really want to inspire people to be creative in their kitchen and homes, but to always keep in mind that simple is best...things don't need to be complicated to be great! I keep my recipes easy to make, and as clean as possible, and I like to throw in the occasional home project or craft, or personal story so that I can connect with my readers. I really truly want to help people make their everyday lives a bit easier and a little more creative...even if it is through a great recipe or a craft. What are some other blogs you love reading? I love to read blogs and am always so inspired by all the great ideas and recipes out there. I'm most inspired by these amazing Canadian bloggers...it's hard not to keep this list going on and on...there are so many great bloggers! Cheri of Kitchen Simplicity Aimee of Simple Bites Virginia of Fynes Designs Julie of Dinner with Julie Jenny of The Brunette Baker Barb (my Mom) of Keeping with the Times Lucy of Craftberry Bush Alex of Northstory Tara of Suburble   What’s your top advice for other bloggers? My top advice for bloggers is not to compare yourself to others, because another blogger's success doesn't take away from yours. Just be yourself, put your blinders on and create amazing content! Blogging is a journey and when done right it is a wonderful and supportive experience. Reach out to the blogging community, help support and promote your fellow bloggers and you will be amazed at how inspiring other bloggers are! We want to hear from you! Do you know a blogger we should feature on Cityline.ca? Maybe it’s you! Email us at submissions@cityline.ca and include “Cityline Featured Blogger” in the subject line. And don’t forget to include a link to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you!

There are so many fabulous bloggers out there, and we want to highlight them on Cityline.ca. We’ll be profiling different lifestyle bloggers from month to month — they might write about food, fashion, beauty, décor, parenting, entertaining, gardening, you get the idea! For October 2014, we're putting the spotlight on the honest and hilarious blog I Am The Milk. Run by Katia Bishops, we love reading about her perspectives on parenthood because whether it's a day filled with laughs or a day filled with tears, she never shies away from her real, emotional responses to life as a mom. Here's our Q&A with Katia: When did you start I Am The Milk and what was your inspiration? How did you come up with your blog's name? To quote Facebook: It's complicated. The simple version is this: I started the blog about six weeks after my second son, Daniel, was born and at the time it felt like a direct response to the event. My husband and I were giving our older son a bath. The next step in our bedtime routine would be to feed him milk in his bedroom from a sippy cup I would prepare in advance. My six-week-old baby, as you would imagine, was also an avid consumer of milk and I was breastfeeding him around the clock. When we were about to finish the bath my husband asked "Is the milk ready?" referring to the mandatory sippy cup in my older son's room, and before I could properly process the question, a voice in my sleep-deprived mommy-brain inhabited head responded: "I'm ready". A split-second later I understood what he had actually asked, did an internal jaw drop and realized that I was going to start a blog titled "I Am The Milk" (or IAMTHEMILK) and that my first post was going to be about what it's like being somebody else's food. The more complicated answer is that I've always wanted to write and always found reasons not to. I've tried to understand what it was about Daniel's birth (other than being food, which I also was for my older son, Ben) that liberated me from my self-imposed restrictions, when it came to writing. I came to the conclusion that because the road to Daniel was such an arduous, stressful and frightening one (failed fertility treatments, miscarriage, undergoing surgery during early pregnancy and other details I won't bore you with) by the time I had him I was so done with the sense of fear that's governed me for so long that I was ready to let go of it and simply start writing. There was also an element of venting and perhaps looking for support. As a second-time parent, I had a set of expectations based on my experience in round one and when my reality with baby number two deviated so far from the expected path, I had to find an outlet to my emotions, whether they be surprise, wonder, deep gratification or frustration. Writing proved to be therapeutic and healing. As Jane Marsh, a blogging friend of mine at Nothing by the Book put it recently, "writing is my prayer and meditation". On your blog you write mostly about parenting, but you take two very different approaches – sometimes you’re hilariously funny, while sometimes you’re more serious and thoughtful. What do you like about writing in two different styles, and what’s your favourite type of post to write? Whether I write something funny or something deeper and more emotional, if I can tell it evoked any kind of emotional response in my readers I am equally grateful. I have always LOVED writing in a way that makes people laugh. Whenever an opportunity presented itself to respond to an all-staff email at work in a way that would make my colleagues laugh, I seized it. There was always something deeply satisfying for me in that. When I decided to start my blog it was only natural for me to approach it as an exercise in being funny. Then I had a duh-huh moment when I discovered that since the blog is about my life (and sometimes things happen in my life that prevent me from feeling funny or wanting to be funny), I can't always be funny on the blog. There were times when it felt wrong to be funny, and as much as I was worried that a serious post would be a turn-off to those readers seeking some light-hearted fun, I realized there were words and feelings in me that had to be processed through writing and come out in a way that is not funny. When I wrote my first couple of serious posts after my great aunt, a very significant person in my life, fell ill, and after a war broke in my home country, I was almost apologetic to my readers. But then nothing terrible happened. No one ran away screaming (as far as I can tell, at least). I've since written a fair share of serious posts and the response I've been getting to them is just as uplifting as writing them -- if not even more so. Tell us about a few posts that you’re particularly proud of and want to share with Cityline.ca readers. On Fridays I participate in a blog hop hosted by two of my best blog friends Stephanie at Mommy for Real and Kristi at Finding Ninee (two blogs I highly recommend, by the way). The linkup is titled "Finish the Sentence Friday". Every week you are given a writing prompt in the form of a sentence you need to complete. On a particular week the sentence was "I blog because". As a response to this prompt, one of my blogging friends Julie DeNeen said that when she doesn't know how she feels about something, she blogs about it to understand. This was precisely what happened as I was creating my post titled "Closest to Me" as a response to that prompt. I think that this was the first time I felt that I've achieved a certain degree of insight through introspection and writing. I was proud of the fact that the post, which dealt with an experiences that is far from universal (my own immigration to Canada among other things), still proved to be relatable and got so many retweets that I realized it struck a chord with others. And what I'm most proud of is that this was the one post I ended up sharing with an audience of strangers at a motivational club attended by a group of internationally-trained professionals. In sharing this post with them I was hoping that they would see that there are no real barriers in our way, other than the ones we create for ourselves. Another post I'm proud of for entirely different reasons is this post which was published this summer on In The Powder Room. I just think it's damn funny... What do you hope your readers get from visiting your blog? When I'm working on a funny post I look at my family, our routines and experiences, and try to identify the universal and relatable and hope that my readers nod in understand while they roll on the floor laughing. When I write a serious post, my initial purpose is to capture a moment in my children's or my own life that made me feel something intensely and to capture it as accurately as I can in a way that would make my readers relive it. I guess what I'm trying to say as that I want my readers to go "are you inside my house/head?" when I write something funny, and the opposite ("am I inside your house/head?") when I write something serious. What are some other blogs you love reading? I've mentioned some names of blogs I admire throughout this article. Some other blogs I adore are Urban Moo Cow, Left Brain Buddha, My Skewed View, Little Miss Wordy and The Waiting. What’s your top advice for other bloggers? I think that my advice would be to not lose the same faith in yourself that made you start the blog. It is easy to lose it to stats and comments on other bloggers' blogs. These things can shake your confidence, but don't let them. Do not over analyze it. If you know you're a good writer and you don't think you're getting the recognition you deserve, keep promoting yourself. The recognition will come. My second advice would be to join a group. ASAP. Yesterday. I've only really started receiving comments and finding my way in the blogging world once I found my tribe. One big group where you can start (and maybe find a smaller blogging support group through) is The SITS Girls who have a sharefest every Saturday on Twitter. Good luck! We want to hear from you! Do you know a blogger we should feature on Cityline.ca? Maybe it’s you! Email us at submissions@cityline.ca and include “Cityline Featured Blogger” in the subject line. And don’t forget to include a link to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you!

There are so many fabulous bloggers out there, and we want to highlight them on Cityline.ca. We profile different lifestyle bloggers from month to month — they might write about food, fashion, beauty, décor, parenting, entertaining, gardening, you get the idea! For September 2014, we're putting the spotlight on Sarah from (Cooking for) Kiwi & Bean. Sarah Huggins' food blog is jam-packed with beautifully photographed, family-friendly recipes that we want to make right now.  Here's our Q&A with Sarah: When did you start (Cooking for) Kiwi & Bean and what's the inspiration behind the blog? How did you come up with your blog's name? I started the blog back in January 2013. My friends pressured me into it! I think they were tired of receiving my unsolicited “guess what I made for dinner last night??!!” emails. I had a tough time coming up with a name for the blog, until it dawned on me that I should just call it what it is: Cooking for Kiwi (my husband) & Bean (my daughter). Since then, I've added one more seat at my table: “Beansprout” joined our family in January 2014. The recipes, tips and tricks on my blog are for families who want to cook and share real, wholesome, tasty food, but don’t have a lot of time to fit it in. That’s us: a lawyer, a banker, and a couple of little kids! We need good food fast. Are Kiwi and Bean picky eaters, or do they gobble up everything you put on the table? What’s your advice to parents dealing with finicky eaters? Kiwi is the furthest thing from a picky eater, but he’s lactose-intolerant and tries to follow a low-carb diet. The Bean has her picky moments and would probably be thrilled if I served pasta with tomato sauce every night. And Beansprout devours just about everything I put in front of him, but he’s allergic to wheat, eggs and nuts. SO…got any suggestions for low-carb, wheat/egg/nut/dairy free pasta dinners? My advice for parents of finicky eaters: (1) don’t give up—keep serving your kids the foods they hate and eventually they will come around; (2) involve kids in picking recipes, shopping and cooking (the Bean recently discovered that she “loves” lentil soup after I insisted that I needed her opinion on the salt level!); (3) keep the pressure, coercion and “if you eat this you get that” tactics to a minimum; (4) set a good example by eating and enjoying (as best you can!) a variety of healthy foods; and (5) as a back-up measure, hide veggies in tomato sauce, quesadillas, mac & cheese…everywhere. Where do you find food inspiration? Ah, where don’t I find food inspiration?! Back in the pre-www days, I got much of my inspiration from cooking shows—old school ones like Yan Can Cook and The Urban Peasant. (I’m dating myself!) These days, I get inspired in restaurants, grocery stores and farmers’ markets, and on food blogs, Pinterest and Instagram, primarily. I also have about 100 cookbooks piled up next to my bed. Tell us about a few posts that you’re particularly proud of and want to share with Cityline.ca readers. I recently wrote a bit of a heart-wrenching piece on my son’s life-threatening allergies to peanuts, wheat and eggs. The diagnosis has really forced me to examine how and what we eat, and to read labels very closely. I think it’s making me a better and healthier cook, and definitely a more empathetic and understanding human. And in an unfortunate twist of irony, this One-Skillet Peanut Chicken (pictured, below) is one of my most visited and beloved recipes, even despite its really odd combo of ingredients. I am working on a way to make it without peanuts, so stay tuned! I totally ruled out raw kale until I discovered this Kale Salad with Apple, Avocado, Parmesan & Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (pictured at top), which is out of this world. Even my three year old has taken a few small bites! What do you hope your readers get from visiting your blog? I want them to walk (surf?) away, saying “omg, that’s a great idea” or “wow, that’s so simple!”. If just one person throws together my One Skillet Trout with Green Beans instead of defrosting some frozen fish sticks, whips up this Quinoa Fried Rice instead of ordering in, or dishes out these Overnight Oats instead of pouring a bowl of cereal, I will be thrilled. But I also want to paint a realistic and truthful picture of what it’s like to cook for a family, and I don’t want readers to be intimidated or feel like it has to be all (farmer’s-market-made-from-scratch-47-grams-of-fibre) or nothing. Hey, the sushi delivery guy knows me by name, I’m totally ok with that. What are some other blogs you love reading? I recently discovered Feed Me Dearly, and I love it. Jessica turns simple ingredients into the most stunning kid-friendly meals. Jan of Family Bites is one of my interwebs BFFs. We’ve never met or even spoken, but I am constantly drooling over her family dinners and party spreads. I Am The Milk is where I go for my daily dose of mom humour. Katia finds hilarity in just about everything. What’s your top advice for other bloggers? I don't think I'm qualified to give advice to bloggers! But here's the advice I give myself on a daily basis: Focus on being real, and not on being perfect. We want to hear from you! Do you know a blogger we should feature on Cityline.ca? Maybe it’s you! Email us at submissions@cityline.ca and include “Cityline Featured Blogger” in the subject line. And don’t forget to include a link to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you!

There are so many fabulous bloggers out there, and we want to highlight them on Cityline.ca. We’ll be profiling different lifestyle bloggers from month to month — they might write about food, fashion, beauty, décor, parenting, entertaining, gardening, you get the idea! For August 2014, we're putting the spotlight on eco-friendly mom Sara from Green Moms Collective. Run by Sara Vartanian, we love reading about how she creates a green lifestyle for herself and her two young boys — and she makes it seem so easy! Here's our Q&A with Sara: When did you start Green Moms Collective and what was your inspiration behind the blog? How did you come up with your blog’s name? Over the past 5 years of parenthood I’ve logged hours on the internet trying to discover answers to my green parenting questions. I found there was a lack of Canadian information and that much of it was geared for the very “crunchy” DIYer. There was a community missing for myself and women like me who love a great pair of sunglasses, beautiful bags, and (non-toxic) pedicures but are also interested in organics, green baby gear, and cloth diapering. I started Green Moms Collective in January 2013 because I wanted to help moms feel better and more confident about their parenting decisions by sharing simple, doable ways to create a healthy, green lifestyle for their children. The name Green Moms Collective came from the fact that I have an amazing group of holistic experts and contributors dedicated to fulfilling the need for green living Canadian content for moms. If you were giving advice to a mom who wanted to move towards being more green, how would you suggest she starts?  I’d recommend identifying priorities, taking small steps, and creating an action plan to make sustainable lifestyle changes. A great place to start is by giving the 5 personal care products you use everyday an eco-beauty audit (e.g., deodorant, toothpaste, soap, moisturizer, mascara). This is a great way to make high-impact changes! Another option would be to try our Healthy Home Detox self-paced course which focuses on creating an action plan to green your home, cleaning products, and beauty products. Tell us about a few posts that you’re particularly proud of and want to share with Cityline.ca readers. It wasn’t my best written post, but I am proud of one I wrote about the impact my mom’s breast cancer has had on my outlook and life choices. She is currently battling her fourth recurrence and talking about it has always been difficult for me. I found writing the post left me feeling raw yet lighter as I shared pieces of my memories in the year of her initial diagnosis. Her breast cancer has hugely influenced my interest in choosing better personal care products for myself and my family. Another post I am proud of is about tips and tools to green your baby’s nursery. It is a celebration of my years of experience as a mom, a certified eco-maternity consultant, and the result of my first piece of writing published in a national parenting magazine. It is the cheat sheet I wish I had when designing my oldest son’s nursery! What do you hope your readers get from visiting your blog? I hope that readers visit Green Moms Collective and shift from a place of overwhelm and worry to feeling confident about how to create a greener place to raise their children. Most importantly, I hope they feel like they’ve found a community who understands their needs! Every Monday night at 9 pm ET, I host a #GreenMom chat on Twitter. There is a welcoming group of regular tweeters who come together to share stories, tips, and ask questions. Participating is a great way to connect live with other moms interested in the same issues. What are some other blogs you love reading? Lately, I have been enjoying the delish recipes of Cooking for Kiwi and Bean, the celebration of good green things from EcoBravo, and the way the photography from Cubit's makes me long for life at a farm.  I never miss Friday’s This Is How I Feel posts from semiproper, and Momastery makes me a braver person each time I read it. I also look forward to the honesty of Jen Pinarski’s blog for Today’s Parent, Run-at-home mom. What’s your top advice for other bloggers? Reach out to other bloggers and experts you’d like to work with -- so many will say yes! But first, connect with them on social media and their blogs. Monetizing your blog while staying true to your core values is possible. It may take longer but it’s worth it. Play with your blog, try new things, be generous, and most importantly, be kind. We want to hear from you! Do you know a blogger we should feature on Cityline.ca? Maybe it’s you! Email us at submissions@cityline.ca and include “Cityline Featured Blogger” in the subject line. And don’t forget to include a link to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you! Top photo by Diana Nazareth Photography

There are so many fabulous bloggers out there, and we want to highlight them on Cityline.ca. We’ll be profiling different lifestyle bloggers from month to month — they might write about food, fashion, beauty, décor, parenting, entertaining, gardening, you get the idea! For July 2014, we're putting the spotlight on healthy foodie Allison from Clean Wellness. Run by Allison Day, we love reading about her adventures in the kitchen, creating enticing plant-based recipes that are as healthy as they are delicious! Here's our Q&A with Allison: When did you start Clean Wellness and what was your inspiration behind the blog? How did you come up with your blog’s name? I started Clean Wellness in July 2012. I was attending nutrition school, and found myself running home to cook the foods I was learning about, and wanting to share those recipes with others. I’ve always enjoyed writing and cooking, so I hopped online and began documenting my kitchen creations, with a few health articles peppered throughout. My blog is now wholly devoted to food, with just a few health tidbits here and there, and more personal stories from my life. I came up with the blog’s name by trying to summarize what healthy food really means to me. I wanted something that was a tribute to the straight-from-the-earth ingredients that I love to use in my recipes, as well as showcase my compassion towards animals, the environment, and my body. To put it simply, it’s all about plant-based recipes that are naturally delicious, approachable, good for you, and visually alluring. I’m completely unsure about whether or not that comes across in the blog name, or if it will be suitable in five years, but I think all bloggers have a bit of a blog name identity crisis! We love great food photography and yours is gorgeous! Do you have a background in photography? Thank you! Food photography and food styling have become a bit of a passion. I don’t have formal training in photography at all; I’m self-taught. I went online and read dozens of tutorials, and watched many videos, until I could learn how to capture food properly. I’m still learning food photography every day, as there is so much more I wish I could do with my blog photos. There are some great free resources out there which have helped me, and continue to help me, create a lively food photograph. I also get a lot of inspiration from other food blogs, magazines, and cookbooks. As far as equipment goes, I initially started with the lens that came with my camera, and transitioned to macro and portrait lenses -- such a huge difference! I’ve discovered that it’s all about the lens. Tell us about a few posts that you’re particularly proud of and want to share with Cityline.ca readers.

• Crave-Worthy Sesame Carrot Noodles with Grilled Asparagus

• Buddha’s Pasta Salad

• Black Bean Chocolate Truffle Cookies

• Groovy Stir Fry with Mango Tahini Sauce

• Vegan Hazelnut Coffee Fudge (made with chickpeas!)

What do you hope your readers get from visiting your blog? I truly hope readers get excited about real, whole foods. I want them to be inspired by their simplicity, and prove that healthy food can be approachable, affordable, and mouthwatering. My recipes are vegan and gluten-free, but that doesn’t mean fringe and flavourless. I’m hoping to encourage readers, with any dietary preference, to implement more vegetables, fruits, and meatless meals into their week, because it makes you feel pretty darn good. What are some other blogs you love reading? My current favourites: Cookie and Kate, Minimalist Baker, Feed Me Phoebe, The Roasted Root, and Oh My Veggies. What’s your top advice for other bloggers? Keep at it; choose a topic you love; designate some time to reading online tutorials; comment on other bloggers’ sites -- you’ll make some fantastic friends from all over the world; learn a bit of coding and design; buy a good lens for capturing your subject; don’t be afraid to speak your mind, but always keep a little something to the imagination; and post on a regular schedule. We want to hear from you! Do you know a blogger we should feature on Cityline.ca? Maybe it’s you! Email us at submissions@cityline.ca and include “Cityline Featured Blogger” in the subject line. And don’t forget to include a link to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you!