November - Week 2 - 2020

They never tell you that starting over is stressful and messy and upheaval - emotionally and physically.  It's all  "fresh start" and "you can create the life you want". I call B-U-L-L! It's lonely. And it's hard. And what you need to do NEXT, because it's everything from changing your drivers license to all your bank info and then all the house projects* can seem super freaking overwhelming. 

This is the 3rd time I've started over in this space. I was broken the 1st time after the divorce. The 2nd time I was very angry at what I'd allowed in my life. This is different in that I'm not broken or angry. I'm simply ready for a positive change. It doesn't make the starting over easier in what needs to be done, which can be overwhelming.

Remember to breathe. Read a nonsense book. Order pizza in. Be okay with unpacking 1 box that day - or none. Try to get 1 important task done. Give yourself the time and space to heal, to dream a new dream.

Book: Light reading only! 

- Never Been Hexed  by Christine Zane Thomas (Kindle Unlimited) Where-in the heroine spends too much time doing nothing and the actual villain is muddled.  (This is book 2. I keep thinking the next will be better.)

- Hex After Forty and That Good Hex by M.J. Caan (Kindle Unlimited) Which is an interesting take on not to scary paranormal world. Also, these don't grab you by the character and hold on. 

- Burn Brightly by Patricia Briggs (actual book) Which is part of my favorite Alpha and Omega series. I love these. They make me happy.

Cooking: Expect less recipes until I find people to cook for. Left to just me - I make a lot of eggs and spaghetti. With sides of Chinese food and pizza. (No worries. Just go to my recipe page.)

But, I am trying HungryRoot for a few weeks because they offer quick meal prep. Quick is my new speed. (Make eggs. Order pizza. Only "fast" food right now.)

Gardening: I had the gutters cleaned. It's the wrong time to put in anything but bulbs and my new yard will be undergoing changes next year. (Apparently the city is taking up the sidewalks.....) 

Gratitude: Fantastic friends who make their husbands change your turn signal bulb, in the rain. Local service businesses. 

Friends who send you decadent soaps and oils.

 Friends who help you paint numbers on your new mailbox. 

House repair: Bought a pane of glass for the garage and caulked it in. Not perfect but it won't let the snow in the garage any more. (This is added to - having the locks changed because people should not need a key to get OUT, and having the gutters cleaned.)

*Thinking I should set up a Go Fund Me for the house since I have vent cleaning and electrical work scheduled next week. I also blew out the porch light, which is basically unchangeable. Who knows what the following week will bring?

Listening: A podcast about Abundance. (House repairs.) A lot of Sting and Adele - because 1 name English people.

Picture of the week: My new Bambi friend! She comes in the afternoons.

Watching: All of Veronica Mars season 4. I kind of have a thing for Logan's character. (I love how he loves Veronica. It's probably obsessive and not emotionally balanced. I find it attractive.) And I'm not okay with how Season 4 ends.

Wearing Against the Skin

Perfume

Imaginary Authors

- Every Storm a Serenade - Scent notes: Danish Spruce, Eucalyptus, Vetiver, Calone, Ambergris, Baltic Sea Mist. I adore this scent. It is what I imagine a selkie would smell like. (I also love the name.) It makes me feel magical. I finished off the tiny sample and would buy again.

Sucreabeille

- Xanadu - Scent notes: fragrant white tea, grated ginger, saffron, a field of lavender swaying in a cool breeze, carrot seed oil, damp pine needles. This is a delicious warm kind of scent - it's the ginger. It lingers nicely on the skin - except this week. I had on too many layers and it was coolish. This isn't a scent that drifts up in cold weather. It defuses in the heat. It's made for tropic climates. I finished my bottle. Would buy again.

- R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - Scent notes: your mother’s expensive cold cream that she dutifully applied every night and now you do, too, mixed with fragrant, sumptuous black cherries. I get a lot of cherry and dark vanilla off this. It's still sexy cupcake but richer smelling. It works well for the change in seasons.

- Lady Swears - Scent notes: Bourbon, Tahitian Vanilla, Lemon.  I decided this is pretty much my signature scent and ordered a bottle! The sillage is gorgeous and now that this has rested dries down to an almost incense like scent for me. It still works beautifully with the change in seasons

Skin

- Day time - Standard a shower wash of tea tree cleanser  followed by a third finger (gentlest finger) tapping into the skin of 100% Pure's Super Fruit Oil Nourishing Eye Cream, followed by the Votary serum. 

- Night time - 1st cleanse - Lovinah's Dragon's Blood DHA Cleansing oil as first cleanse or the 100% Pure Blood Orange Cleansing Balm. (Change in season has made my skin extra dry.)  . Following with a 2nd cleanse with my DHC Washing Powder for a little extra exfoliation. The moisture set has been Votary night oil and cream (via the Boxwalla) Plus the Grown Alchemist eye cream.

Random

Pro-tip. If your very busy, introverted friend made plans with you, they have likely re-arranged their entire schedule and moved other appointments to be there. You may be their only non-business contact of the week. Think about that before you cancel.

Also, when you break up, its only polite to return the other person's things. Especially if you know they did not intend to leave them.

Take-away - You can let delays get in your way. Or you can accept that you don't always control the timing and things happen in their own time. Acceptance is an interesting thing to practice.

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

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Musings - March 2019

March winds bring change. I always forget that. And then March happens. 

Books: Zip. Well kind of zip. No finished actual books. But I signed up for Blinkist and read about 10 short summaries. All non-fiction. Plus I also signed up for Good Reads.  (Pictured are the books I strated and didn't finish. I thought Irish Fairytales for St. Patrick's Day but yeah, that fizzled.) I'm at 5 of my 52 books for the year - and certainly not making enough of my Kindle Unlimited membership, obviously I need to kick it in gear a bit with reading next month! Travel is happening so that always helps with the reading more.


Gratitude: Live butterfly exhibits (see the cycle of life in the photo below - little caterpiller, big caterpillar, coccon, and new hatched butterfly). Nice pens. Digital tools. Kittens. New friends and wine evenings. Art. Dinners with smart women. Little Free Libraries.  New vacuum.

Listening:  Halsey. Florence &  the Machine (which, it turns out 12 loves as well.) And I found the best new podcast for rocking about 10 minutes of meditation at lunch - Live Awake. 

Perfume: I am ready for a change. So I've been using  Les Perfumes de Rosine Majalis everyday as I want to run this out and move on. March isn't the only thing ready for a change!

Recipes: I don't think I made anything new or a fresh recipe but I made A LOT of desserts. Seriously. Banana bread. One Friday evening I made pumpkin pie, cherry pie, and strawberry-stuffed pound cake from scratch in under 3 hours. I probably made the quick fruit cobbler 6 times this month. It's officially the go-to dessert of the house.

Self-Care: I am a little bored. So things got switched up a little.  The basics are in place - most days. But I've moved things around for weekends and nights.

The Basics

- Day - Juice Beauty line for brightening emulsion, serum, eye cream, CC cream. That pretty much is my standard and it continues to serve me very well.  (Of course next month, I'll need to add suscreen. Because spring is about to happen.)
- Night - Night is basically bardin skincare. Most of what I use I got on sale -  Predire Eye Care Anti-Aging Night Serum. (And reminder, I did not pay retail for it! ) which I am trying to run out. I've added H2O Infinity Renewing Youth Serum (which I got on mega-clearance of $28) plus I'm still using Little Barn Apothecary oil  (See first picture of this post for what that looks like and options). 

One evening, we (Jericho, me, and 12) did a homemade mask for girl's beauty night. Mashed strawberries + honey + a bit of dry clay. It's been ages since I made my own mask from simple, natural ingredients. I had some recollection of hand-mashing the strawverries - nope. The best option is a blender. We discovered that the hard way with chuncks of strawberry falling off our faces. But, I will say we had beautiful, glowy skin afterwards.

I joined something new a few months ago. An every other month beauty box that - at a subscription rate - lets me try green brands that are usually out of my price range. (Click here to check out The Boxwallas).  Right now, I like the Earth Wise Resiliancy Face Serum for weekend days and African Botanicals Cell Recovery Serum and Oil for night. Plus I've used the Siam Seas Clear Skin Serum a few nights - which does a beautful job of clearing up minor bad skin flares.)

Things 12 said: Well, she's renamed her sister's kittens. (Isaac and Israel got 4 month and 5 month old kittens - super cute.) Their actual names are Lucy and Roy. She's calling them Milly and LeRoy.

She also declared herself magic after a butterfly became her best friend at the butterfly exhibit. (I had a blue morpho land on my hand. Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids is beautiful.)

She's not doing well in math - but on her latest math test, she corrected 3 grammar issues on the test. Her English skills are off the charts.

Watching: I finished the latest season of Shameless and I'm plowing my way through Grimm. (What was UP with the opener the first few episodes of Season 2?) I love a good series for cooking binges and also digital chore time - who else has noticed that modern life has a CRAZY amount of paperwork?)

Random:  An actual person bought one of my digital books! Woot hoot! (I have a tendency to give them away. And one of them is free all the time anyway.) If you want to check out my books - click here.

Here's the deal, people - if you don't want someone to attend, just don't send an invite. Sending the only notice of an event mere weeks ahead, when you know people travel for business (aka they don't have a choice on being in town or not), just to say you sent the invite is RUDE. 


Take-away - Change is the only constant in life. You better figure out how to handle it.

Original musings posts you may enjoy:

- Musings - February 2019
- Musings - January 2019
- Musings - December 2018
- Musings - November 2018
- Musings - October 2018
- Musings - September 2018
- Musings - August 2018
- Musings - July 2018
- Musings - June 2018

- Musings - May 2018
- Musings - April 2018
- Musings - March 2018
- Musings - February 2018
- Musings - January 2018

- Musings - December 2017

- Musings - November 2017

- Musings - October 2017

- Musings - August 2017
- Musings - June 2017
- Where Did March Go?

- Musings - February 2017
- Musings - January 2017

- Message in a Bottle (2016)

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

*Juice Beauty is a staple in my beauty cabinet. I stray, I try other things - but it's my favorite "foundation" (I used the CC Cream) and great skin care. If you like Juice Beaty too, here is a link. I do get a small commission (at no cost to you) when you use these links which helps support this blog.

- Skin Care by Juice Beauty

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Musings - December 2017

'Tis the season! And right now, there are two types of people. 
- "The holidays are wonderful!"
- "Ugh, the holidays."

And some days I fall in both camps. It's a complex time of year and can be emotionally challenging for many - including me. So, these were the best and worst of the month.

Books: Sometimes when I'm stressed, I have a hard time sleeping. A little time with a book before bed helps. So I've made it a point the last month to take the time to wind down. Because of that little habit, I managed to finish 5 books! (It only looks like 4, because one has two). I was lured in by Lagom's cover. It really wasn't worth the $13 that I impulsively paid at Target. There is a Swedish flair to the idea of frugality, reduce, take time for the family, etc but it's certainly not new. Anita Blake, vampire hunter, has another outing in Bullet but it's almost formulaic at this point. The Furies was an interesting pick-up at my local Little Free Library (but it will be going back). The best find was a two-in-one pick up of The Innocent Mrs. Duff and The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. At some point in my life, I purchased this two-in-one book of mysteries on a whim. It was a good whim. Her books are brilliantly written and hold up well to the test of time. They are exactly the kind of reading you hope someone would leave behind at beach cottage or holiday rental.

Gratitude: The garden that never stops! We pulled out carrots on December 2nd. (And kept harvesting the parsley, mint and thyme until mid-December.) The carrots intrigued me. Some were nearly full size, some were very small. All were planted in mid-May, so I'm not sure what the difference is!

That some skills, once learned, don't fade. We've been crocheting scores of yarn roses for an upcoming event. La Gram Russe taught me to crochet the summer I was ten. I remember it vividly. And that's good since I hadn't crocheted in about 10 years! But like swimming or riding a bike, it comes back.

Free will. You can choose to change. You are the only one who can make that choice. But if you don't put the choice to action, it's just a wish. I'm also grateful for those who help facilitate self-change by reminding you that you can not change other people. (And may I recommend a book called "Boundaries" to help you learn when to say no, especially to family and how they treat you?)

Listening: Since the latest update, my iPhone has been a little temperamental about pulling up my podcasts. (I do not enjoy hard rebooting every morning to just to pull up podcasts.) It's made listening less easy and if it's not easy - it doesn't happen in my world. I think I hit Sidehustle about once a week and nothing else. Plus, with the season, the soundtrack has been heavy on the holiday playlist. Bonus - a few of the kidlets like Gumbo Christmas and Straight No Chaser, so I have musical allies in the household!

Perfumes: I've been trying to kill off a very large bottle of Paper Flowers, as mentioned last month. And for a change, the occasional splurge of Majalis. I've also tried different lotions to change the base. Small variations. Sometimes that's just what you need.

Recipe of the Month:  This month, it's all about easy in my life. We totally went semi-homemade on a bunch of stuff, including sugar cookies. We had a BLAST decorating them!

Cassie (11) likes to make deviled eggs and pigs-in-blankets. And her teen-age brothers love them. So, we often make those two things during holidays. And this year, The Guy made a delicious treat with cream cheese and crescent rolls. So, with one extra ingredient, we were able to add-on an delicious and easy new treat!

Creamy Crescent Treats
- One pack of cream cheese (we used garden vegetable)
- One pack of crescent rolls
Open and unroll crescents as noted on package. You can use at that size or cut down for more appetizer-sized rolls. Add a dollop (or 3 if using full-sized) of cream cheese and roll up the rolls. Cook according to package directions. Easy!

Tip - you can mix in chopped green onions to the cream cheese for an extra fresh delicious option.

Also, Israel (19, Isy) has taken a liking to the protein balls I make and asked for the recipe.

Peanut Butter Oat Protein Balls
- 1 cup quick cooking oats (also reserve additional for later)
- 1 cup unsweetened, natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1/2 cup of chia seeds or flax seeds or a mix, optional
Mix all in a bowl. Scoop out a tablespoon, and on a wax paper surface roll into a ball, then coat with extra oats. Stored tightly, these will last a week in a refrigerator or a cool room.

Self-Care: It is the time of  year when dry skin reigns supreme. In addition to the usual oils (almond, apricot, coconut, olive), I've added some lotions and creams. There was a sampler of Hempz's lotions that caught my fancy this month. My love for roses continues. And I've picked up a rose hand cream (Caswell Massey) and a lovely British rose body cream from the Body Shop. Plus, Caswell Massey has a lovely Apothecary Sampler filled with different kinds of floral waters, including Rose! I've been adding that to my dry clay masks for a gorgeous good skin, scented treat. (Also perfect for toner post-mask.)  And yes, that is a new Rose Miscellar Water I'll be trying this month!

Watching: Binged whole seasons. Yep. Not even guilty. Heavy watching while crafting, wrapping, and writing. Inhumans. Shut Eye. Pure. 

(I track info and details better in large quantities. Weekly watchings just don't work as well.)

These are a few of my favorite wraps this year. I like using "everyday" materials when wrapping and finding ways to make things pretty. I love that the same materials can be used another day! My frugal "waste not" soul rejoices.

Random: I've recently discovered drug store leggings and a really awesome drugstore organic face oil (more soon). I now feel about 100% more confident that if a witness protection situation arises, I can adapt.

Happy holidays!

Take-away - Give yourself the gift of the time and space you need to process whatever gets thrown your way. 

Original musings posts you may enjoy:

- Musings - November 2017

- Musings - October 2017

- Musings - August 2017
- Musings - June 2017
- Where Did March Go?

- Musings - February 2017
- Musings - January 2017

- Message in a Bottle (2016)

All photos by moi! 

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Musings - November 2017

The season of family and friends kicks off this month. Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year! I love the gathering. The sharing. The lack of religious overtones. The simple grace of good times and good food.

Books: Just a few this busy month. The House at the Edge of Night (Catherine Banner) which was a good bit less interesting than the title implied. (I picked it up just for the title in September when I was traveling. My bag would only fit two new books  - I wanted three. Child Finder was a good buy. But now I wish I'd gotten the other book rather than this one by Banner.)  And Janet Evanovich delivers  the campy, raucous fun one expects from the 23rd Stephanie Plum novel.If you spot the combo at a Little Library - you may live near me!

Gratitude: The apparently unending bounty of our garden - that's fresh thyme, parsley (pictured) from the garden - as well as mint we harvested the week of Thanksgiving. (We love adding it to our water.) People who understand family is about inclusion and how you are treated showcases your value. The blue skies of November.  Movie dates with this guy.

Listening: The Best of James Bond. Azucar (Spanish guitar). Side Hustle podcast. Bombshell Business podcast.

Perfume: It ranges from super inexpensive to very fancy. Paper Flower. Magazine Street. Majalis. And I've decided that when you wear Majalis, you need to commit! It lingers. I wore it for a week straight as it permeated everything, in a lovely way.

Recipe of the Month: We had some fun in the kitchen this month! We made a "mummy pie", post-Halloween. Ours was a Granny Smith apple/raspberry combo, like Real Simple magazine's Instagram post from which we got our inspiration. But one could do this with most any fruit pie. Just lay the crust pieces overlapping and use a piece of the fruit to create a "nose".

I also invented a new recipe. It started, as many things do, with left-overs and super foods.

"Italian" Quinoa Salad
- Red quinoa,cooked (I used an entire package. Made with veggie broth)
- Celery and onions, diced and sauted
- Fresh spinach
- Butternut squash, roasted, diced
- Italian dressing

I was roasting squash, en mass, and making potato soup (which starts with sauteing celery and onion) when I realized I could make another food option for the week just by cooking some quinoa. So I did. I threw the fresh spinach on the cooked quinoa, added the sauteed celery/onions + roasted squash and tossed, allowing the spinach to wilt a bit. Then I realized it needed a flavor binder, and I had a jar of Italian dressing that I wanted to use up. The rest is history.

Can be served hot, cold, or room temperature. Lasts about 5 days in the fridge. Best if you let the flavors mingle for 2-4 hours before serving.

Self-Care: I'm currently obsessed with 3 things. 
1) Rosewater. Rosewater everything - witchhazel with rose for a morning toner, and Marcus Badescu's rosewater spray to refresh dry skin. 
2) Vanilla+dark fruit scent. (I think this may be left over from the delicious scent of grapes in the air at dusk in early September.) Anything scented with vanilla/black raspberry like my new soap and my grape/blackberry/vanilla lotion. 
3) My new hairbrush. Koh-i-Noor is an Italian brand now available in the USA. I mostly have a "hate" relationship with brushing implements - they make my hair frizzy. I have heard that wire brushes were better - and you can see I have a little collection. I hate all of them. I use a wide-tooth comb when my hair is wet and try to avoid brushing as it mostly just rips out my hair and makes a frizzy mess. But this Koh-i-Noor brush detangles and is perfect for use whether your hair is wet or dry. (It's the gray one in the picture.) Plus it does not frizz my hair out when used dry - it kind of smooths through the waves and takes out any tangles.

Watching:  Wynonna Earp. Harlots. (Many days I feel like Charlotte Wells, so full of promise and yet unable to make it tangible.) The Blacklist. And so many bad Bruce Willis movies. (He must have alimony. That is the only explanation of The Set Up.)

Take-away - Sometimes the pace of life gets hectic. Slow down. Enjoy this moment. It won't happen again.

Original musings posts you may enjoy:

- Musings - October 2017

- Musings - August 2017
- Musings - June 2017
- Where Did March Go?

- Musings - February 2017
- Musings - January 2017

- Message in a Bottle (2016)

All photos by moi! The hairbrush was a gift from the US importer of the Italian luxury brand. They had no expectation of a blog review.

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Honored 2

It may not have gone unnoticed that I've been a bit neglectful of this space. Life sometimes gets in the way and some times I get lured by a "better" offer, which is what happened when a friend was kind enough to not only showcase my words in his blog space, but even created a playlist to accompany the entry! I'm deeply honored he'd share his space with me.

Opening Excerpt:

This is not the movie, The Words; this is the lyrics that go with the sound. For me, that's where it starts. I'll lay awake with pieces of songs rolling through my head like thunder. Daily, while walking around in the world, my musical sense gets triggered at random times. Someone will say a phrase in conversation and the lyric with melody will run through my head. Much of the time, I actually walk around with a soundtrack playing in my head.

Read the rest at Echoes and Silences - a blog on music, sounds, and all things related.