Showing posts with label style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label style. Show all posts

Saturday, December 28, 2019

To My Girls - Part 3

It's time to discuss gratitude and thank you notes! As you move into world of adulthood, these two things will serve you well.

 Did you know December 26th, in addition to Boxing Day, was National Thank You Note Day? Did you miss it? No worries - thank you notes can be sent other days.  (National Handwriting Day is January 23rd, for example.)

 First, my girls, remember that grateful hearts see beauty others miss - and receive more opportunities. You really are among the lucky. (Most Americans are.) When you spend time being grateful for what you have, you may just realize how very much you truly do have. There is a reason that gratitude is part of my monthly musings. Some days, when my head isn't in a grateful place, I'll write down 3 things I'm grateful for that day. Gratitude is a beautiful trait.

 Second, my girls, a well-meant "thank you" note is a treasure. Tangible evidence of you and your gratitude. A slice of a moment in time to be treasured. A well-written thank you note is actually a gift back to the receiver of your appreciation. Thank you notes are beautiful expressions of appreciation (which is all manners really are).

 When is appropriate to send a thank you note? (Almost always!)

  • After attending a dinner or event at someone's home. (They went to effort to host you. It is appropriate to acknowledge it.) 
  • After receiving a gift - be it: birthday, holiday, or special occasion like a a graduation open house or a wedding. (Again, the giver spent time selecting the gift as well as hard-earned money/time on the gift. It is appropriate to acknowledge it.)
  • If someone does you a kindness. (Examples: they help you plant a garden or help you move or watch your dog without payment or write you a recommendation letter.)
  • Sometimes I send them just because. (I could not agree more with this Southern Living article on why write thank you notes.) 

What is in a thank you note? Five simple elements:
  1. Their name
  2. That you appreciate the effort, sentiment or thought (or care or time)
  3. What you like (even if it is just that they thought of you)
  4. The words "thank you"
  5. Your signature
Thank you notes are best hand-written. Preferably written on nice stationery and mailed. They can be emailed. Text, while sub-optimal, is better than not acknowledging the gift but certainly not memorable.

 Hand-written thank you notes do not have to be lengthy tomes. They can be very brief. I've written them in as little as 3 minutes. (And as long as an hour with multiple drafts for a business one.) The hardest part can be finding the address! (I tend to solve that by just writing the name on the envelope and then looking up the addresses later after I several notes written. Alternatively, sometimes I pre-write the addresses per day and then do a bunch of notes on a specific day.)

 And for those thinking, but.....I don't have an address, stamps, paper. Etc. STOP. Stamps can be bought at any post office or grocery store customer service counter - or even online! Any paper will do in a pinch. And if they sent it to you, you have their address. (Pro tip - when people mail you things, add their address to your phone contact for them.) You can also look up their address on the on-line white pages. You can always find an excuse. Be better at finding a reason to show people they matter to you.

 What is NOT appropriate for thank you notes? 

  • Generic "thanks for coming" pre-printed cards. Especially when combined with a holiday greeting like an etiquette two-for-one sale! It is simply not done! (Oh, I've seen it done, and recently. It wasn't pretty. Especially since the wedding was more than 6 months from Christmas!) It's the thank you equivalent of a mass mailing. That is most certainly not a treasure and shows zero appreciation on your part. To prove you were not raised by wolves, a hand-written "thank you" and hand-writing their name in greeting would lend a personal touch to an impersonal act.
  • A picture. Unless you are under age 5 in which case a picture, especially hand-drawn or of you using the gift, is perfect. (Side note, one of the aunts once gave us all framed pictures of herself for Christmas. Height of narcissism. I do believe my mother still wrote her a thank you note.) And if that is done, as I've recently received, the bare minimum one can do is personalize with a small handwritten note, especially for family, on what you liked or appreciated about their pictured gift.
  • Texts are borderline. Not preferable as they have no longevity and display next to no effort on your part, but they are better than nothing.
  • Mentioning specific amounts of money received. (Or gift card amounts.) It's best to just thank them for their generosity.
For more specific guidance, Southern Living has a great Dos and Don'ts article on thank you notes - because Southerners have elevated thank you notes to an art form. (They even have a video option on that.) Whole books have been written on the art of thank you notes! (Some of you girls may remember I own several.) One of my cousins writes the most beautiful notes - letterpress handwriting and the perfect sentiment, every time - I aspire to be as good at them as she is! 

 Here's a real life example of thank you notes for wedding gifts. If you had 100 guests, post honeymoon, sending 1 thank you note a day would get it all done in about 3 months. Two a day and you are done in less than 2 months! Contrary to old etiquette rules, you do NOT have a year after the wedding to send thank you notes. After the honeymoon, get rolling on those thank you notes. It will make you grateful for everything you received and what a beautiful way to start a shared life! (Plus, the sooner things like that get done, in my world, the less guilt/undone work I'm spending energy on in my head. But that may just be me.)

 I know several of my girls have rolled their eyes while reading this and are thinking I'm old fashioned and thank you notes are ridiculous. Wrong. Thank you notes are timeless. Thank you notes are about more than "manners". They are part of the intricate fabric of social kindnesses that make bonds of friendship tighter. In this digital age, given how many envelopes one receives that are bills - what a joy to open a nice note from someone you love! Wouldn't you like to bring joy to someone? Especially someone who did you a kindness or gave you a gift? Aren't they worth 3 minutes and $0.50?

Whether or not you get those thank you notes out -  please remember 3 things, my darlings: I believe in you. I love you. And, I am proud of you. Always. (But a little prouder when you send thank you notes to people and they mention it to me.)


PS. Thank you notes also make a difference in business. They may be why you get the job or keep the client. Here are two resources:
- Templates for post-interview thank you notes
- The business impacts of thank you notes
Pictures are my own + Unsplash (first image)
Other posts you might enjoy:
- To My Girls - Part 2 (Keeping House)
- To My Girls - Part 1 (Self-Care)

 Hey! If you are enjoying these pieces to my girls, you might like one of the digital books I wrote, Taking Back Control of Your Life. 



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Thursday, October 31, 2019

Musings - October 2019

October is always a transitional month. It starts Q4 and is the run up to the holidays with a side of settling into school. I decided to settle into a "get moving" theme for the month with street named perfume, road called lipstick and some adventure.

Books: Travel month! So, in addition to finishing Buying Signals by Nikki Rausch,  I picked up a new book, Hello! My Name is Awesome by Alexandra Watkins. Both of which I ADORED as business books by smart women and am telling everyone about.

Kindle Unlimited. 
- All 3 of the Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill books by B.R. Kingsolver
- Winter Hours by Mary Oliver

There were other books during the travel, but I didn't get them all finished. (Pictured but they don't count yet.) 

Gratitude: Couch snuggles. Local coffee shops that remember what you like. Kittens! (They are a year old now. Maybe I should call them "young cats"? They are big - over 9lb each - but have baby faces and are so cuddly. Kali especially likes to come talk to me about all her woes in the morning. It's so cute!) October blue skies. Dinners with friends. Orange trees. Discounts at nice hotels. Soda fountains with alcoholic drinks. Unexpected water and fire shows. Art and wine.  And buying yourself a bouquet because you just damn want flowers.

Listening: My own thoughts. They are B-I-G right now. And during a LONG driving trip, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, which you can rock through at 1.5 speed and not miss a thing.

Perfume: It's October. Time for a change. I went with the new mini bottle of Magazine Street that Strange Invisible Perfume is offering. (And it became part of my weird travel theme.)

And I nearly forgot! I tried out perfumes! Skylar is the brand (clean perfume, made in the USA.) And... on me, it had ZERO sillage. I loved the easy packaging. I loved the fresh scents - and they were just as described. I loved the mix suggestions. (Arrow and Meadow were my two favorites   - possibly because they were the ones that stayed on - and I liked them better mixed.) But if it doesn't stay on my skin but 30 minutes - it's a bust as a fragrance.  
- Isle - Clean, Dewy, Fresh
- Coral - Fruity, Floral, Flirty
- Arrow - Spicy, warm, seductive
- Meadow - Floral, Chic, Beautiful
- Capri - Sparkling, Citrus, Sweet
- Willow - Woodsy, Cool, Lush
That said, I'm still tempted by the pricepoint on ordering Arrow and Meadow as a duo.....

Random: 
1) I now know the historical meaning of Bar and Grill - and it's not what you think it is. That meaning is also very well suited to the Kingsolver book.

2) I rented the cutest car for a business road trip. I wore Magazine Street perfume and Kismet's Country Roads lipstick on the trip to be on theme.

Recipes: Oatmeal cookie update! We've discovered I had inadvertently modified the standard recipe - and we like it more! (Here's the link to what we started with.) We've done it up with the blueberries and with chocolate chips. Both good.  

 Here's my recipe (and yes, use this order to put it together):
- 2 sticks butter, very soft 
- 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 cups oats (old fashioned or quick cook)
- 3 eggs (beaten)
- nuts,  dried berries or chocolate chips to taste

 Mix well before you get in the eggs. (I mix after vanilla extract. I also mix after flour. And again after oats. I use a fork.) Add beaten eggs 1 at a time. Once throughly mixed, spoon onto parchment lined-pan in even amounts. (It makes about 18 cookies for me - but we make BIG cookies).

 Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. 

Self-Care Overview: 

 I've been wearing Country Roads lipstick the second half of the month. It's part of my travel theme. (See top image for color.)

 Soap of the month was Morning Dew. (The label says... lily of the valley. hyacinth. wisteria. spring blooms poking though the ground after a fresh soaking rain.) Very feminine and fresh. I took it with me on 3 trips (Philadelphia, Grand Rapids, St. Louis).
Keeping the Face Young Skincare...
Day - I killed off the Juice Beauty oil early in the month. So full switch for day to Mad Hippie's Vitamin C Serum then 100% Pure's Super Fruit Oil Nourishing Eye Cream and then top my whole face with light application of Pacifica's Super Flower Power Rapid Response Face Oil.  Seems to work well with either quick Bare Minerals powder or with full-on Juice Beauty CC Cream + finishing powder.

Night  - There was some travel. When I travel, I tend to use my DHC Beauty samples as night as lotions and to try different products. I also take my DHC Oilve Oil Cleanser and Face Wash during travel. (I love my various cleansing balms, but when I travel, I don't want to use the hotel washcloths on my face - who knows what those were laundered in?!? And balms need a face cloth wipe, for sure.) On non-travel days, at night, I've been using the African Botanics's Cell Recovery Serum all over plus African Botanics's Fleur d'Afrique Oil topped with either 1) Sweet Briar Hydrating Nectar by Heart of Gold that came in the Boxwalla box in August or 2) FlowerSpice Soothe and Repair Daily Moisturizer from the April box. Nearing the end of the the African Botanical Cell Recovery and I'm sad. (Not a pricepoint that's friendly to my current life.)

 Confession - I still haven't figured out how to use that Grommage Gel from the August box. Never seems to work for me.

 As always, we wait to see who says I look young. (I think the best was the Earthwise serums for that.) And NO! The Meijer store kid just clicked "over 40" as I bought my wine.

Stress: Big life things are in flux. Change is a wave you've got to learn to surf. Oddly, knowing that and making CHOICES (feeling empowered) helped a lot with my stress this month.

Things 13 Said: Did. She's become a tater-tot thief. To which she tells me "Who counts their tater-tots?" Me. The answer is me because you steal them.

 We went to visit her 19 year old sister at art school. We surprised her at work - and then stayed there as she works at a hotel! (Cute space, too and walking distance to lots of things.) 

 The 3 of us tried rock climbing as our fun adventure. The girls were naturals! (I'm more of a natural anchor. But I did give it a college try.) And if you have never done it - it's hauling your entire weight up by your arms while balancing on small stones, then trusting a rope to not drop you to your death. I'd do it again. 
Watching: Designing Women on Hulu! Blacklist on Netflix. (Is it weird I want to BE Reddington when I grow up?) Schitts Creek on Netflix. And my spirit animal, Jessica Wong, is back in play with Fresh off the Boat.

Take- away - Some times you have to set boundaries with other people. But, you get to define the boundaries of you. Maybe it's time for you to stretch those boundaries!
Original musings posts you may enjoy:


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 Beauty 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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Thursday, September 20, 2018

To My Girls - Part 1

I wasn't blessed with a daughter. Instead, I got something else. I got beautiful nieces; amazing cousins young enough to be my daughters; and then in mid-adulthood when I'd stopped dreaming of a daughter, three wonderful #NotMyDaughters. Most of "my girls" are grown or close to it.  (Except the youngest, not pictured due to age.) 


My girls, it wasn't always possible for me to be a daily part of your lives, but I did what I could from wherever I was (picking you up at school, having you  overnight  - 529 accounts for some, helping some get into and succeed at higher education, and the care and feeding of all of you whenever possible.) I promise I was always there with my heart open, whether you realized it or not. As you blossom into amazing women, I know you have less even need to me. But, I am here at Bunny Haven Manor when you do need me. You have my number, and my home is open to you, as it has always been. I'm here when you need me. That's what #NotTheMommas are for.

When you go out in the world, I always want you to remember to be 3 things above everything else:
- Be smart
- Be kind
- Be brave
However important those 3 things are, they are not everything you might need to be or know in this world. Sometimes I worry that time or distance may mean that you will need something and I won't be there to help or you won't think to turn to me. The best thing I can think to do is to "arm" you with knowledge to succeed on your own terms. So, I'm going to do a few posts on what I consider basic life knowledge you should have. You spent enough time with me that you were not raised by wolves - however, there may be subtleties of life knowledge still to explore.


We'll start with 11 rules for being and staying pretty. Not because it's the most important, but, because in many ways it is the easiest. There will be other parts where we'll tackle finances, cooking, and cleaning - possibly more. (And you all know I have my own life rules. ) But we will start here, with being and staying pretty.

Some of what I'll tell you is common sense. Some of it science will prove wrong. It's okay, later science will prove it right again. 
1) Pretty is as pretty does. In the end, how people will remember you has less to do with how you look than how you treat them. And ugly shows through. Practice being gracious. 




2) Sunscreen. Every burn and tan ages your skin. Especially areas that don't have much natural protection - like your neck and chest and the top of your hands. Every day. Hats when you can. Sunglasses. The sun is changing. It will not be kind to us at any time soon.


3) Don't contaminate your skin. What you put on your skin is absorbed into your body. Synthetic fragrances can disrupt your hormones (and more importantly, potentially your children's). Have care in what you buy with fragrance - perfume, make-up, skin care.



There are so many options for natural perfumes! Sometimes I wear them and you tell me you like that scent. Lucy B, Margot Elena (Library of Flowers, Toykomilk, Love + Toast, Lollia, The Cottage Greenhouse), Tsi-La, In Fiore, Strange Invisible Perfumes, and many more every day.


From point 2, look at natural options for lotions, soaps, and sunscreens as well. Zum, Mrs Meyers, Jason, Alba, Kiss My Face are fantastic options. 



Many of the colors in cheap make-up have toxic elements. No reason to use those when you live in what is the golden era of natural makeup! Au Natural Cosmetics, IT Cosmetics, Iila, Bare Minerals, Tarte, Laura Mercier, 100% Pure, Juice Beauty, French Girl - and those are just a few I've tried! (You can order a good number direct and others via Ulta. Some, like Burt's Bees are mostly natural and available from the drug store.) There will be more. The world is awakening to how to use the gifts we've been given on this planet. (Yes, darlings, I know about Vapour Beauty. Their customer service is rude and the product has issues with tubes. Nope.)


You can buy expensive Lush masks or wasteful single use sheets. Or you can buy good quality clay + matcha dry and add a few things.... honey for moisture and anti-bacterial; strawberries for moisture, antioxidant and mildly astringent; yogurt (plain) for moisturizing and skin brightening; egg white for skin tightening; maple syrup (organic) for anti-aging; a simple addition of rose water to add scent to a dry mask.  Dry masks (a mix of clay, etc.) are economical and last a good bit. Then you just mix them up when you want them.



4) Wash your face. Coco Chanel once said something to the effect of "A woman without perfume is a woman without a future." She didn't just mean scent. She meant self-care. Even if you didn't wear make up, wash your face at the end of every day to take the day off (sweat, dead skin, dirt, etc.) This small act of self-care means something. (And you don't have to wash your face 2x a day, especially if your skin is dry - just a simple splash of water and a swipe of witch hazel prep your skin for moisturizer.)



Keep point 3 in mind when you pick what to wash with. And make sure you have something to delicately remove your eye makeup because of point 5.



5) Your skin is not infinitely elastic. You will find that out in your 40s that you should've done, so start doing them now:

     - Use your ring finger to pat creams and lotions into your eye area. 
      - Remove your eye makeup gently. Without rubbing and pulling.
     - Whatever cream or lotion you put on your face, put on your neck as well.
     - Use an upward motion to put on creams, lotions, oils or make-up.
     - Frownies are a fairly awesome way to help keep between brow lines down
   - Sleep on your back. Side sleepers will get wrinkles on that side first (uneven wrinkling, weird - and let's not talk about what it does to the chest area.) Stomach sleepers will age/wrinkle even faster.

6) Your hair needs good care. Quality shampoo and conditioner is required. Cheap hair care can give you issues with color and breakage. (Reminder - dry shampoo only goes on the roots for oil, unless you need texture.) Have a light hand with the amount of extra heat (drying, curling, straightening) and chemicals you use.



7) Lasers and tweezers are your friend. (Also good light and a strong mirror. Make sure you have those.) Threading is also good. Wax can be weird, especially if you have wavy hair. (But NADS are good in an upper lip emergency.) Shaving - and don't be fooled by micro-dermabrasion facials, it's a razor - is a last resort. And never the chemical options - see point 3 if you have forgotten. (I'm not telling you this to make you attractive to men - or women - I'm telling you this because some of us just don't like dark hair on light skin. And I've tried nearly every option on the planet.) The faster you get it permanently handled, the faster you can get to quick showers and faster prep time. Life enhancing!




8) Drink water. Preferably without fake crap in it like flavors and artificial sugar. (Also stop with the diet soda! Gallstones. Gout. Cancer. Use sugar or stevia or honey.) And if you drink tea - drink organic, as it doesn't get rinsed off of pesticides before being made into tea. (You don't want to drink hot pesticide water.) Eat fruit, but not too much, and plenty of veggies. Yes, this is a beauty tip. You can eat crap in your teens and twenties. But by your thirties, they start to show up as extra weight and wrinkles. The easiest beauty tip is to eat better things and better quality younger.


9) You are prettier than you realize. Stop using filters. Just take your picture. Someday you will realize you are beautiful. 



10) Don't spend too much time on trends like those strange overdone, painted in eyebrows. They aren't flattering and don't look natural. And my glory - the upkeep! There are better ways to spend your time.



11) Always do something you love. If you can't make a living with it, then give yourself time to do it. That happiness will show on the outside!




Please remember 3 things, my darlings: I believe in you. I love you. And, I am proud of you. Always.
Pictures are via Instagram, Gingertown photography


And for 100% transparency, I think I'm supposed to mention that:
1) I do own stock in Hain Celestial - which creates the Jason and Alba lines. I own that stock because I like the products. That's how I invest and also why I share.
2) I do get an affiliate link benefit from this link - Skin Care by Juice Beauty 

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Saturday, September 1, 2018

Musings - August 2018

There is something luscious about the close of a month, and the start of a fresh new page. Let's recap August, shall we?

 Books:  Digital books are my new jam. Especially with the Kindle Unlimited! I did the maths and figured out I need to read 2 digital books from Kindle a month to hit my "break-even" on the monthly fee being "worth it".  So I started the month by actively looking for 2 and realized I'd not read the latest Alpha and Omega book from Patricia Briggs - I actually tried to buy it and Amazon said "You already own that."! Quelle surprise!  Burn Bright was a very good afternoon of reading! 

Then, I devoured just a few of Shannon Mayer's Elemental series books (Recurve, Breakwater, Firestorm, Windburn, Peta, Rootbound, Ash, and Destroyer ) over a late month weekend as I tried to hit that Kindle Unlimited break-even. I actually ended up reading a total of 10 digital books this month! After I found a hardback sale copy of Patricia Brigg's Fire Touched -  which I thought I'd already read it based on title, the summary revealed I'd not and explained the knowledge gap when I'd originally read Silence Fallen - I then had to re-read my digital copy of Silence Fallen just to make sure I was solid on my knowledge of Mercy's world.

 And, people - I FINISHED THAT ECONOMICS BOOK!!!! (Local Dollars, Local Sense - that I started back in February. Oyi. Dense reading that one.) I've passed it on to a friend in economic development because I think she will get a good bit more use out of it than I did.

Little Free Library check in - If you are wondering if I ever return books  I borrow to the Little Free Libraries (July post), yes I do! I usually flip them from the one I got them to the other one as to help move the variety around. (Beach to town, town to beach.) Plus I've passed over 9 of the physical books (so far this year)  I've read to the LFLs (plus an additional dozen books or so I had around the house since I'm trying to minimize). I've also passed 4 others books directly to friends.  

So far, I've read about 41 books this year. The goal was not a book a week but that's about what it is averaging. Except, I'm basically binge reading and not reading weekly. 
Gratitude: Space - mental and emotional. The ability create and share that the internet gives us - AMAZING! People who reach out for reasons, other than to ask for a favor! (Love those emotional connections.) And homemade pie on an average Friday.

Listening: The Art of Manufacturing podcast. The Art of Charm podcast. I have to say AoC is very "Guy Talk". I'm not sure women could get away with doing some of what they say. (Apparently one of the hosts is a famous rock star? I'm not interested enough to check but okay.) And SO MUCH Dave Ramsey. Sometimes you just got to hit the refresh button on what you know to get yourself back in the mindset. That was a definite theme to the month.

Perfume: Finished out Hard-Core Happy! Still working through that ginormous bottle of Love + Toast's Paper Flowers, but I'm on the dregs.  And I added a new purse perfume from Lily B, Peony Rose & Mandarin Musk. Looking forward to opening up something new next month!

Recipes: Sometimes I don't even make recipes. I just go out to the garden and gather things, chop them, put them in bowls and serve them.  That's what has been happening lately with fresh garden tomatoes and garden pineapple sage plus onions, salt, pepper (+ avocado if we have it). Jericho (18) and I call it NotGuacamole  and she claims it's better than the real thing! We devour it with chips.

 Honestly, I think any garden cut-up will do with chips! I've also done fresh garden tomatoes, onions, garden green pepper, garden jalapeños, and left-over black beans with a bit of chili powder and lime. Perfect over chips or dipped with chips.

 The garden is a fantastic snack source!

 I also made faux Indian from our garden. Sauteed fresh tomatoes from our garden with some onions and a bit of garlic. (EVOO.) Once the tomatoes popped, I added a can of Lite coconut milk (because that's what was in the cupboard. A can of drained chickpeas. Fresh curry (helichrysum ) plant minced and fresh basil - both from the garden. Served over rice. (Guy added some cooked pork to his.)
Self-Care: Hot summer days call for a refreshing toner spritz. I found one at the local farmer's market which is hand-crafted and perfect. (Witch hazel, aloe, and a touch of tea tree and lavender.) I had it in the picture for the June Musings. And I have a few others, like the one pictured in this month from Garnier. When it's humid, that it is a lovely refresher in the afternoon or evening.

 My love affair with the oils continues. I've added a treatment oil from Juice Beauty to my mornings.

 Also - ALL THE SOAPS! I may have gone a little soap nutty. And they did not help me since they sent me samples!(Picture is giant so you can see how sumptuous the package was.)



























Here's the story....I found this awesome place called the BathHouse Soapery in Arkansas on Instagram. And they are so cute! I want to visit their shop in the absolute worst way. (I also want to visit the Red Twig Farm in Ohio next May but I digress...) And then I found BathHouse's "step-sister" - Villainess Soaps in a post. OMG. Such luscious scents! I suspect they aren't essential oils or naturally based but are synthetic so I can't recommend this as a green choice. They aren't as creamy as ZumBars. But ohhhhhhh they smell so pretty and look just beautiful + the packaging is amazing. And they didn't just send 1 sample or 2 samples. They send 3 soap sliver samples (I ordered 3 soaps - Pearl Diver, Krakatoa, and Strychnine.) 3 tiny vials of scent to try. And 1 lovely travel sized little jar of skin balm. I'm in awe of how cool this all is and the extras. Retailers take note: little extras mean a lot!
Watching: Citizen X (and my love for Gerald McRaney knows no bounds. That man is a seriously underrated actor. And whomever did Sharon Stone's outfits was brilliant.) And, apparently my NOLA theme continues from last month (Preacher Season 2, and Clock and Dagger) with an early month total binge of Queen Sugar. Maybe I need to visit NOLA again! 

 I've also been catching up on Harlots and Handmaiden's Tale - so that's another theme going on. And yes, I am watching a lot of stuff this month! I had some time free up - and I'm working on a few things....

 Random: Sometimes you just gotta step away from the train-wreck. I did that this month with a volunteer thing. It was tough as I'd been part of it for 10 years - it was part of my identity! But, maybe I was holding it back and it will grow into something better without me. Time will tell.
There are points in the year that seem like natural re-set points. January. Spring. Beginning of summer. Start of school. And so I used that seasonal set point to  create something new. A new book for busy women. A bootcamp style 7 day book to help you take back control of your life. Check out this and my other books at this link to Gumroad.

 One Sunday this late month, I went to #NotMyDaughter's church.(20, Israel). We have very different faith journeys. Hers is very literally Biblical while I have a much more historical view of the Bible's teachings. Her faith walk is very important to her, so I thought it important to respect it by knowing this part of her world. I was honored that she would share it with me despite our faith differences.
Take-away -  Sometimes we don't notice because life can seem monotonous but our lives are in a continuous state of change, even is small. You can enjoy the changes or fight them. Your choice.



Original musings posts you may enjoy:


All photos by moi! And you can tell...
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Sunday, July 8, 2018

A Texas Weekend

Austin is GORGEOUS. (As a friend said - the vibe is just indescribable.) I think of Texas as flat and dry - I've visited Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Laredo, Waco and other dry Texas places in the past. I'd forgotten that Austin is in hill country and has rivers. No lakes - although Lady Bird Lake is a piece of the Colorado River. We went in mid-June for a weekend get-away/meeting a few of Guy's friends for a birthday event - Mike's 50th as seen below with Guy and Mike, the birthday boy! (He still looks 47, right?)


And I remembered Austin was hill country after we accidentally walked 9 miles the first day! We are such Midwesterners - it's only 1/2 mile, of course we can walk that! Do that a few times and BOOM! 9 miles just happens. (As do ginormous blisters but that is another story.)

 There is art literally everywhere in Austin! They make art of nearly everything - witness the Hope Outdoor Gallery which was once a burgeoning condo development. You can't walk down a sidewalk without seeing art! Improvised spray paint art or gorgeous planned mosaics. There is no end to the creativity you see in Austin!
The food in Austin is out of this world. I did not have a single bad meal! The food was good for me (vegetarian, lactose intolerant, and gluten sensitive freak) and him (just loves good food). The funny thing was - we did no research and picked nothing in advance. We just stumbled upon places as we explored. A few times we used my Happy Cow app to find a place near us, due to ALL the walking blisters. Because I'm a serial sharer... here is my rank ordered list of AMAZING Austin food:
- The Peached Tortilla (Asian/Mexican fusion)
- Blue Dahlia (fresh, seasonal- and the menu is the most beautiful blue which they make the dye for in their own kitchen!)
- The Clay Pot (date night Indian and very large cocktails)
- Koriente (fresh, reasonably priced Asian)
- Frank's (gourmet hotdogs and amazing brunch - pictured is my plate of veggie Eggs Benedict)
- The Goodall Kitchen (a touch pretentious with a limited menu but the art is absolutely museum worthy)
There were likely a dozen other places we could've easily tried - and might next time!
We stayed at The Pearl Vintage Inn Hotel which is wonderful location. A touch off the beaten path but close to downtown. Magically lit up at night  - like when we arrived - with tiny fairy lights on the trees. Private entrances for many of the rooms. In some ways it felt like a bed and breakfast. It's amazing - comfortable and quiet. We stayed in the Far East room which was Asian elegant and had wonderful furniture, plus included its own outdoor balcony where Guy took his morning coffee. (I sooooo wanted to have a reason to use the lovely outdoor bar on the 1st level.Would've been fun to host something there!) My only complaint was that the owners were obviously not foodie people. The "breakfast" offering was cut-up, store-bought pastries, sad granola, and overripe bananas + grocery store tea. No. But the room was beyond amazing - so win! (I got the fancy $20 bill chocolate at the airport store for a joke.)

During our wandering tour on Saturday, we stumbled into a African-American Writers event at the George Washington Carver Museum, which had the most lovely bathroom I've ever seen in a museum. And got a real sense of Texas history at the Bollock Museum. We also wandered around the capital building being totally tourists and taking pictures of various statues. Hats off the the Austin Parks Department - we found the Old Bakery Emporium which was so cool! Tiny shop (all things made by local artists over 50), a mini art museum, and a small history museum in one location near the capitol building.
I also happened upon the ModCloth Fit Shop in Austin! I'd literally seen a ModCloth dress on Instagram that week which I loved - and while at Sunday brunch at Franks, we spotted the shop on our phone maps within walking distance. Sadly, the dress was not what I expected (way more formal fabric and 3 skirt layers!) but I did find an adorable skirt - with pockets! While you can't walk out of the store with what you love, they will ship it to you for free and because you can try it on - you get the right size every time.

And since it was me traveling, what travel story could I tell that wouldn't include the gorgeous flowers? And a mystery. 

 This pink flower was a tree that grew to our balcony and flowered.


This orange and yellow flowering bush was on our walk. I'm not sure what it is but I recognized it. Last year when i was in Tucson on business, there was one of these outside my hotel room which attracted various butterflies.

 We passed several of these profusions of orange flowers on our walks. 

 This blue flower looks like Phlox - but not quite - to my eye.














Last, but not least is this weird tangle of twig or vines is my mystery flora. I saw them in a number of trees - clustered like flowers. (This one had fallen - that's how I got the close-up.) When I first spotted them, I thought birds nests! But in looking at the fallen one, nope. Something else. Still not sure what as I wasn't sure what to search to find them and my flower identifying app has fritzed out. (If you know a good app for flower identification - please let me know!)

 And that, my friends, is a 4 day weekend to remember. Time together, time to explore, time with friends, time to relax/recharge. What else could you ask for?

 Take-away - Take time. Make memories. They are what lasts in relationships.


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