Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Musings - April 2018

It was a double travel month book-ended at the front and back of the month - which always seems to mean I run out of time - so I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date! (April!)

Books: Well, I didn't read everything in the picture but I did read more books than that! I finally managed to finish off The Way of the Witch - I do not recommend it, a mis-mash of mythologies and too wordy, to boot! (Off it went to my little free library!) On the subject of mythology, I finished Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology which was a grand retelling of the myths. I finished Finding Your Dream Network by J. Kelly Huey on the way home; and Career Kred by Ryan Rhoten on the way to Fort Worth. (And then spent quality time with the author at a Barnes & Noble later in the month!) I also discovered the Rylee Adamson series which is completely binge-worthy! The first 2 I picked up in paperback, and then I discovered Kindle Unlimited... $9.99 a month, and you can check out 10 books at a time! I powered through the whole 10 book series over the month + the first two books of the follow up series. Kindle Unlimited is very dangerous...

Gratitude: Lilac blooms. Unexpected parties. Kittens.

Listening to new podcasts. Bouquets of tulips. Clip-on earrings. Business insights by smart women. Quiet time while traveling. Good travel companions. Crazy laughter from "double chicken" and bi-pedal beavers.

Listening: Land of podcasts -->Marketing over Coffee. Susan Hyatt. Business Boutique. Chalene Johnson. Plus a whole lot of music by Halsey. (Castle is my new ringtone. Just saying...)


Perfumes: I continue to try to kill off the  Paper Flowers from Love and Toast - which I found out is by the same nose as my beloved Library of Flowers! I love that she created budget friendly and more exclusive options! My go-to alternative for the month was Pacifica's Jasmine Lime. This is a wonderful time to love natural products - there are more every day! The options are never-ending. Temptation is here, too, as I've found new perfume to try which I am on count down to buy!


Recipes: Something new month continues! I made Applesauce Bread. Similar to standard zucchini bread in recipe, but spiced out like Jericho's Apple Pie.



3 beaten eggs
3/4 cup of oil (EVOO)
2 cusp sugar 
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
2 cups applesauce

Mix the beaten eggs and oil together, then add sugar and vanilla. Slowly hand blend all of the dry ingredients into the liquid/sugar mix. (I mix up all the dry ingredients, except the sugar, in a separate bowl.) When everything else is mixed, add the applesauce. Pour into 1 large flat pan or 2 loaf pans.

Bake at 325 for 1 hour.  When a fork comes out clean, the bread is done.
  

Self-Care: From last month's fun surprise box from Kismet, I pulled out the Kismet bronzer to try while I was in Fort Worth (pale legs aren't a Texas thing.) It's fantastic! Easy to apply, non-streaky. You couldn't ask for more. And, while attending 2 marketing conferences, I managed to meet two separate people who specialize in natural beauty! Now I have two new lines I want to try!
- Au Naturale Cosmetics (colors look gorgeous!)
- Wild West Skincare (organic at the next level)

Stress: Being forced to listen - for hours - to the others' inanity at a volume usually reserved for stadium concerts. Oyi. Headsets only go so far.

Things 11 Told Me: 
- See the pile of pink glitter on the beach? It's a dead mermaid.
- Everyone knows that if you have a yellow dot on the inside white part of your left eye, you're a clone.

Watching: So much HGTV and Chopped. Crazy amounts at every hotel. I recognize a watermelon radish on sight now!


Random: 1) So, 18 (the artistic one) won an art award! And 2) if you are going to Fort Worth, I recommend the restaurant Reata. Oh my! The food is amazing - there's also a great rooftop bar and a cigar bar! 

Take-away - Sometimes you only improve by inches. And that's okay. Give yourself the grace of time.


Original musings posts you may enjoy:


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

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Saturday, March 31, 2018

Musings - March 2018

New things are good, right? (That is, after all, what spring is about, new beginnings and trying new things.) This was one of those months when I tried a bunch of new things. Some of them were awesome (Kismet Cosmetics) and some were "interesting*. This may be because next month is my birthday. And it may be because I'm trying to make some positive changes.

Books: I'm still doing the thing where I read 10 pages per book a night of 3 books - one history, one fiction, and one business. (Except the JR Ward book which I just read straight through because mind-candy!) Which means, I'm making slow going on some of the longer books - especially if I have to miss a night due to exhaustion. As noted, I finished out J.R. Ward's The Beast (which, if you haven't been reading her whole series is just too involved to jump in.) It was on sale at the store - and sometimes a girl needs a treat. I also, finished out Amber Hurdle's The Bombshell Business Woman. (I would have edited it differently to be a lot less personal upfront, but after about chapter 3 - it's filled with solid business advice and a ton of resources. This one should be a must buy for entrepreneurs and small businesses, especially those in the service sector. It now sits squarely on my business book shelf.) The Way of the Witch is actually 3 novels in one. And I'm through the first 2. And here's my thought - the author is in love with long and unusual words that get in the way of the story. Also, so far, the  first and third are the better books. The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn by Retha Warnicke is a very dense history book filled with superfluous names; this is one of the books that is benefiting from the 10 pages a day per book as it makes the information chunk very manageable. Local Dollars, Local Sense by Michael Shuman is an interesting premise of investing local that I started apres the Hurdle book.


Gratitude: So, I decided that I needed to re-align with a more pervasive spirit of gratitude. Which is why I re-connected with a gratitude journal a business friend wrote a few years ago. A nice nightly reminder to take 5 minutes and think about gratitude. And right now, I'm grateful for lilac buds, sunrises, beautiful skies, gracious friends, and the annual JC Penny dress sale.

Listening: The Bombshell Business Woman (podcast), Chalene Johnson (podcast), Susan Hyatt (podcast), Marketing Over Coffee (podcast) and tons of jazz. (Pandora is the best.)

Perfumes: This is the apex of my scented life. I've reached the point where I have upstairs perfume, downstairs perfume, purse perfume, and emergency office perfume. And that means I am certainly not sticking with any one scent! The emergency office perfume is a variety of DSH Perfume samples which I bought for that purpose. The current purse perfume is Pacifica's Tunisian Jasmine Lime roll-on. Upstairs is Paper Flowers. And, downstairs, I finished off the Magazine Street. Which was both sad, as I don't see a re-purchase in my near future due to pricepoint, and fun because now I get to try more stuff!

Recipes: One word for our recent late spring cold spell - casserole! I made the superfood, super nutritious quinoa casserole again. And folks, there is a secret to making quinoa. Rinse it first.  Here's the quinoa casserole recipe:
- Make quinoa according to package instructions. (I like red quinoa - which I rinse - and then make in the ratio of 1.5 cups quinoa to 3 cups of boiling water.)
- Cut and saute 1 sweet onion in a bit of olive oil (5-7 minutes)
- Cut the crowns off 2 heads of broccoli, rinse and separate the florets. Then throw them in the onion pan. After 2 minutes, add 1/4 cup of water and cover. Take off heat after 5 minutes.
- Add pre-cooked, butternut squash cut into squares to the onion/broccoli pan.
- In a large bowl - combine everything. Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
- Transfer everything to a very lightly greased (EVOO) casserole pan. Top with 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake it for 20 minutes or so at 350 degrees (until cheese is bubbly and melty)

This is nutritious, surprisingly delicious and stores well for about a week in the fridge. In total it takes about 1 hour to make this but it's an easy hour.



Self-care: A couple of my brands had sales for various holidays. My favorite was from Kismet Cosmetics. I've bought a few lipsticks from them and I really want to like them as a start up US brand. (Since last time I shopped them, they now have this really cool new service were you send your picture and they help you pick your best lipstick color.) They had this nifty idea about a surprise box. You set your $ of purchase and the box, depending on your amount, had between 2 and 5 new products to try. I ended up with Country Roads lipstick, which is not a color I would have tried but works for summer/fall. I'm trying out the new bronzer next week in Texas, too. (Midwest pale legs versus a warm weather climate!) We will see how that goes.

The other thing I tried is a new (to me) fashion line called Cabi. A business friend, Elisabeth, introduced me to the idea of personal styling for those of us who are regular working people. I got a few new (and awesome) cardigans and jackets. (See top picture for a bit of one of the pretty color cardigans.) The price point is higher than I usually go, but not by much, and with Elisabeth's help I've chosen things coordinate with what I currently have - extending my wardrobe and making my style more current with these flattering wardrobe additions.

Stress: Do you ever think about how much of your stress is from your own thoughts? Sometimes I do! And a recent article I read about negative thoughts has given me a good bit of food for thought on that line plus a few new tools for dealing with stress you make yourself. 

Things 11 Told Me: 
- Anything is travel sized (1 - she's not wrong; 2 - I guess the idea of travel sized is lost on 11 year olds as they grab the full-sized version for a sleep-over and forget to bring the item home)

Watching: Designated Survivor, Queen Sugar, Nikita. (Apparently I'm trying to channel Maggie Q. Maybe it will make me want to exercise more!)

Random: Adventure ahead. You just have to choose it.



*Take-away - Chinese fortune cookie definition - "May you live in interesting times". You get to decide how if it is meant well or as a mild curse.


Original musings posts you may enjoy:


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Monday, February 26, 2018

Musings - February 2018


For most people, February is a short month. For me it has been very emotionally long. Family upheaval. Changes. Sick puppy. Big snow. It is the kind of month which makes me want to hide out for a week or two and just not deal.



Books: There were books. But I didn't finish them. I'm trying a new reading technique that is 10-20 pages of up to 5 books at a time per day. I find it makes completing a single book in any kind of reasonable timeframe more difficult. (Plus one of my current "books" is a 3-in-1 book of the author's work in a series making it longer than a normal book.) 



Gratitude: Good chiropractors. Pet insurance. Coloring. Jams.  (There is a lovely breakfast and retail place called Froehlich's Bakery where they make their own exotically delicious jams. I've been told I may have a jam problem - I bought: Habanaro Apricot, Tea Time Blackberry, Strawberry Margherita) Puppy pill pockets. The toughness of lilac buds. Cross-country skiing. (It was my first time. It was fun! I fell a good bit.)



Listening: Best of Bond. (The theme songs.) And whatever Pandora plays me. 


Perfumes: Magazine Street. Paper Flowers.

Recipes: I didn't make up any new recipes. But I did make a fairly awesome Strawberry Shortcake (recipe via Taste of Home) for the Artistic Girl's 18th birthday. (I do recommend letting the strawberries, sliced, "relax" with a touch of vanilla and 1/2 cup sugar for the baking time. Use a slotted spoon to serve up.) It was extremely well received! I'm pretty sure my delicious differentiator is the homemade whipped cream.

Self-care: I've been exploring various natural make-up line concealers for the last few months. Alone. In tandem. With powder. With CC cream. With different mascaras. Bare faced but for the concealer.

I've always had dark circles. And sometimes my skin is angry. When I used Bare Minerals, carefully applying layers of powder would build up coverage on any angry spots but didn't really help the dark circles. Now that I've switched to Juice Beauty CC's Cream as my primary skin coverage, I've been working on options for concealing dark circles and spots. This is what I've discovered so far.
- Juice Beauty Correcting Concealer (tube)  is in the line I love but really lacks coverage. It's watery. And it's almost like not wearing anything on a blemish or dark circle.
- Juice Beauty Perfecting Concealer (cream tin) does the job on the dark circles but if applied anywhere else, it cracks in a few hours. The result, on my skin, looked fake.  (This was, however, my second favorite due to the good dark circle coverage and the quality ingredients of the brand.)
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye (tube) has serious coverage. So much so, I had to watch a video on how to properly apply it!  (Warm in hand first. Mix between fingers. The apply to undereye.) It is never cakey but somehow it feels visually heavy and "fake". Used sparingly, this had merit.
- Laura Geller Baked Radiance Concealer  (cream tin) was my winner for coverage. Hydrating for my dry skin. Excellent dark circle coverage. Works if applied sparingly to blemishes. The one challenge I had was that my waterproof mascara tended to smear with this formulation. (Didn't matter which mascara. I tried 3.) If I carefully applied the lightest touch of powder at the base of my lower lashes, the smearing was better. Due to the coverage and ingredients, this was my favorite concealer.

This still isn't a beauty blog. But I'm honest. And I like to try things. And I like to share information. I hope you find it helpful!

Stress: The puppy became ill again. It's something with his liver. We're testing. More soon.

Continuing family stress. 

On the maternal side, they don't seem to understand that the actions of one - unchecked by all of them - have gone on long enough and will not be tolerated in any way, any shape, or any form - ever again. No more polite lies about why I'm not there for "family events". The truth is that she has made me so amazingly unwelcome for so very many years without hindrance from them (in fact with their help) that there is no going back. And they have chosen her version of the truth. Done. 

On the paternal side, there have been some changes in Southern Gram's living arrangements which have resulted in people displaying their very worst sides. Greedy. Grasping. Lacking gratitude. Unwilling to help or be a solution and so very much finger-pointing blame. It's been ugly. And it makes me sad. 

These stresses are some of the reasons I go to therapy. I speak to someone (the same person for several years now) one or two times a month. There is no shame in that. It's a fresh viewpoint into stale wounds. It's new tools for the same problems. It helps me find ways to improve my present relationships and keep my emotional balance when things like the passing of La Gram Russe threaten it. It helps me own my worth, for the first time, among "family" who has squelched it. It helps me be a better, more balanced person for those who are presently part of my life.

If you are going through changes or challenges, I urge you to seek an anchor -be it counselor, friend, minister, or therapist. Find someone to listen and help you through it. You will be stronger for it. There is a reason wabi-sabi is an art.

Things 11 Told Me:
- Yes, I'm full in my regular stomach from breakfast; but my candy stomach is empty. (She was lobbying for a cookie for breakfast.)
- (After a very sad, angry disappointment, when I asked if she was feeling better) Only on the outside. On the inside, I'm still very angry.

She is often right on so many levels.

Watching: Impostors. Star Trek: Discovery (interesting how dark and reptilian the Klingons look). Criminal Minds (all caught up.) 



Random:Oh, y'all. Customer service really really matters. Remember last month when I called out Vapour Beauty? It didn't get better.  I got an email from them - and I replied with that blog post. To which they unsubscribed me from their email list - and didn't resolve the product issue (that I have 3 eye crayons drying out because they don't seal correctly) nor did they address the customer service issue at the heart of my complaint. And yet, this week I got a re-subscription email from them because they changed website platforms and don't know how to make automation work for them instead of being in the way of their "service". Oyi. 


And what I have to say to that is... Ilia Beauty. I'm not loving the color range as much as I did Vapour, but I'm sure they will expand it. I'm trying Moonbeams & Polka Dots right now. 


Take-away - Do you remember the L'Oreal line, "Because you are worth it." Yes, you are worth it. And you need to remember that.


Original musings posts you may enjoy:


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

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**This, like all my posts, is not promoted or compensated in any way. There is an affiliate link in the Shop tab for Juice Beauty products. (Basically if you click the link and then buy Juice Beauty products from their website, I get a small amount of compensation.) Unlike many blogs, I have just a few affiliate links. The reason is that if I don't love something, I don't share it. And I only want you to have the best!

Thursday, February 1, 2018

2017 Lessons

A little late to the game this year with lessons from 2017. (If  you caught January Musings, you know know there was a lot going on in our house!)

Every year, I like to take a little space and think about a few notes I jotted down over the year. (Notes are over in Random, if you want to have look at this year's, so far.) These are insights I realize, as I go about living, that are really life lessons  to which I should be paying attention.


This year, #3 was a way I learned to deal with toxic people who trigger buttons. Repeatedly.  And #4 was demonstrated over and over again. If I had one piece of advice for people, it would be meet your commitments - even the small ones - or don't make them. 



WHAT I LEARNED IN 2017 

  1. Plans are subject to change.
  2. Use anti-aging hand cream early in life.
  3. Don't communicate angry. Calm down first.
  4. Most people have NO idea how flaky they are and how it impacts others.
  5. Try to be tolerant. Because someone else is tolerating you.
Take-away -  For people growth is a personal choice. Do you choose to wither or grow into something amazing?

PS - The berries are a mystery. We spotted them in a container garden in November in the Midwest. They almost look naturally silvery. Gorgeous!

Other posts you might enjoy:



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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Musings - January 2018


It was a snowy start to the new year and a fresh start to a new couple this month! (More below.) Our house has been in mad preparation for The Guy's eldest's daughter's impending wedding. It happened January 5th and was a lovely day.  She wore the necklace in this photo as her something borrowed, old, and blue. It was La Gram Russe's. One of the few things she brought to this country.

Books: Had a bit of travel (Long Beach, CA for business) - which meant that an airport bookstore, my downfall, happened! And that is how I found The Roanoke Girls which was a fantastic air travel read, even if I did figure out the shape of the plot on page 35. It's well-written enough that I kept reading.  On The Birth of Venus, I can only say, that apparently smart girls don't get happy endings. Not my sort of book and it will be going to the Little Free Library later this week. On the other hand, a Little Free Library find was The Speckled People and it was wonderful! For anyone who grew up in any sort of immigrant community where the past was a living force that dictated the shape of your childhood - this book IS you. That feeling of not quite being anything is beautifully explored.


Gratitude: People who pitch in. (Elin who helped with making more than her share of endless yarn roses.) Cars that start on a cold, cold winter day. Waitresses who try to accommodate your rushed order and schedule. Yoga socks. Clean counters. The bright light of a full winter moon on a field of snow when you take the dog out at 2am - it make it less eerie. (Bad photo. He hates sitting still. He's currently rocking a new Mohawk.)



Listening: Sting, If on a Winter's Night. Side Hustle podcast. And that old fashioned thing called the radio. 

Perfumes: I've been rocking just one. Magazine Street from Strange Invisible Perfumes. Somehow, it fits this weather.  Or maybe it just makes me think about warmer places! I keep expecting the bottle to run out and yet it hasn't yet.


Recipe of the month: So delicious! I love an Instagram account called "Wicked Healthy" I saw a version of this salsa and had to try it! 

Asparagus salsa

- Chop 1 bunch of asparagus fine and saute in 1 tbsp of olive oil until crisp/tender (under 7 minutes)
- Dice 1/2 a red onion
- Cut fine 2-3 jalapenos (to taste)
- Dice 1 good sized red or orange pepper
- Chop fine 1 bunch of rinsed cilantro
- Salt + pepper
 Mix! Serve! (That's it!)


I served it over baked sweet potatoes and rice. Delicious! And easy. I did the rest of the chopping as the asparagus cooked. If you eat chicken, it would be grand with that as well.



One note of caution, it keeps well for several days in the fridge but the red onion becomes more intense.

Self-Care: Somehow, the winter seems to give me license to play. I tend to try new things (eye shadows, creams, etc.) more during this time of year. My skin has been treated several new creams, including Juice Beauty's Nutrient Moisturizer. Which my skin just drinks in at night, especially around the eyes. I've also been using a few rosewater-based sprays  to freshen make-up, quick morning zap tot the skin, etc. Overall, both pictured here (Garnier and Mario Badescu) are fine and I like both. I will say that apparently part of the price difference is in the quality of the spray effect - Garnier's is kind of like a tiny squirt gun in the application rather than a mist. I also have been masking about once a week as part of a "me time" ritual. Still love the brightening effect of the pumpkin mask from October. But I also, because I love a mix-in mask, tried Balm Balm Hibiscus Face Mask which is rice powder and hibiscus. Since I am allergic to Rose of Sharon, the hibiscus is a little dicey for me, and I've discovered leaving it on for longer than 15 minutes to dry results in some irritation. Thankfully that fades in a few hours, leaving me with luminous skin - and that initial irritation can be avoided entirely if I only leave it on for 10 minutes. So far,  I've just been mixing it up with a bit of the Rosewater from Caswell-Massey from last month. I'm going to try honey and see what happens. And the best for last! The Green Ceremony Cleanser by Odacite is a luxurious indulgence (which I thankfully got on sale! But it would be worth the regular price tag.) I love a dry cleanser. You may ask why - well, they are easier to travel with (no need to check your bag or only travel with small amounts or air pressure spillage) and I feel like they stay fresher for use because you just mix up what you need. This stuff is amazing. When you add water, it becomes a silky, pillow-y, foam that just sweeps across your face to cleanse your skin. I've never experienced anything like it before. I look forward  to washing my face on the days I use it!

Stress: The reason for December's take-away - the holidays and the maternal aunt who can't be anything other than passive aggressively rude and the family who makes a 1000 excuses for her behavior towards me. And that, my friends, is the real story of why I didn't spend Christmas at my aunt's - not my schedule. And I despise the polite lie told 'for me' to save face for that aunt, more actually than the behavior. Now, lines have been drawn. Sides have been chosen. What they don't realize is that I never expected them to choose me because they never ever have. And so I'm absolutely fine with the new status quo of not being part of that family. Part of being a grown up is moving away from the toxic and towards the healthy. I have other (healthier) family who actually value me and treat me well.


Watching: Criminal Minds. The Librarians. (Smart is sexy.) Blindspot. Travelers. Nashville. Caught up while off over  the holidays and doing zillions yarn roses for #NotTheDaughter's wedding bouquet. (And her bridesmaids, and the table wreaths, hairpins, etc.)

Random: 1. Customer service matters. I had a recent experience where I ordered  5+ stick eyeshadows from a natural line. Beautiful colors, as you can see in the photo (at the top). I love the ingredients and flow of the product from prior use. But several of the tops didn't cap and one didn't screw back down after being rolled up. I reached out to customer service 2x before receiving a misspelled and passively aggressively worded response which also included "we are aware of the problem and doing everything in our power to resolve it" without a resolution offered for my (the customer's) issue! The exchange did not improve. I actually told the representative not to send the replacement tops* I'd throw out the product because I was so disgusted with how bad the customer service was. (Something non-incensed, frugal me would never do.) And I didn't because my frugal heart wouldn't let me. The promised replacement tops never appeared as the rep seems to have taken me at my word. However, now I receive their marketing e-mails 2x a week! #Fail by Vapour Beauty. Despite my love of your all-natural, made in the USA product, there are alternatives. I'll find one. I like to experiment.


*It's not the tops. I've exchanged them among the tubes.The problem is not resolved with a new top. The flaw is in the tube design. Hope they figure it out.



2. Also, didn't #NotTheDaughter look like a snow queen! (Yes, she is old enough to get married. I'd have liked her to wait a year or two for more life experience, but as discussed in December we have this amazing gift called free will, and it was her choice.) Her theme was Snow Day - and it was! A snowy cold day brightened up by the warmth of Isy and Issac's happiness (also by the cocoa bar, but that's another story.) So many people love them. I hope they saw that during the bustle and stress of the wedding preparation and take that with them into their new life together.

In closing, I always end these monthly updates with a take-away. Sometimes they read like I'm sending a message to someone - and I do often have something in mind when I write them. But, what they really are is usually the thing I'm trying to remind myself to do more of or be better at. This month is no different.

Take-away - Remind yourself as often as needed that how other people act is not your issue but how you react to other people's choices is YOUR choice. (Try to remember you are a grown up.)

Wishing you the best as we all embark on this new year.





Tuesday, December 26, 2017

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:

All photos by moi! 

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Saturday, December 16, 2017

Paint It Purple

Pantone has spoken. And the color of 2018 is....Ultra Violet. Or grape. Like many things, it depends on your perspective.


Spiritual. Regal. Creative. A delicate blend of opposites. Artistic. Complex. Mystic.

Pantone selects the color of the year based on current cultural influences.  Or at least that's the company line.

Sometimes I think they pick what they want to see in the world. Compromise? Less stark distinction? Other times I'm concerned by the implied acceptance the color engenders to some bigger ideal. We live in a democracy. Ultra Violet is not a democratic color. It's the color of royalty. However, the color does have an inherent richness. Perhaps it's a wishful nod at better times to come.   

Take-away -  Experience colors perception. But a fresh start is always possible. 

Other blog posts you might enjoy:
- Color, A Random Post (2016)
An Orchid Year (2014)
Pantone, Again (2013)
- Orange Love (2012)


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Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Gifts and Expectations

I find the holidays trying. It is not the gifts. It's the expectations. For me, it's the expectations of people who are maternal genetic family but strangers in any meaningful way

Sadly, creating distance with them usually requires a very firm stance on my part. They rarely seem to hear me. And their expectations of who I am don't match my reality - even the reality of those of you who just follow me here, they've certainly never tried to reach out to know me as one would any stranger in a social setting. It would be a gift for them to just accept me without expectations. It won't happen. They enjoy their expectations. I enjoy the freedom of not dealing with their expectations.