Spring Break Packing Essentials
As the weather warms up, I look forward to taking short weekend trips and so appreciate not having to pack bulky clothing.
Recent Posts
Sili-Mitt Oven Mitts Review
Thanks to Sili-Mitt Oven Mitts for the opportunity to review their comfortable, safe oven mitts! If you’re like me, you need a longer oven mitt. The Sili-Mitt Silicone Mitts are perfect for baking or canning. Check out my review on Youtube, and then get the…
Easy Shea Butter Body Butter
Living in Southern California, I’m not sure if winter is coming or going. We recently had some normal winter weather and even had a blast of rain. Just as I was scoring some great sweaters on sale, it’s summer in February! I do enjoy digging out my shorts, but I don’t enjoy what the crazy dry heat is doing to my skin!
I whipped up some easy Shea Body Butter today and my skin is already feeling much better. All ingredients are readily available on Amazon Prime, so you too can whip some of this up in a pinch. I used small jelly jars, but any glass container would be a good choice.
- 8 oz shea butter
- 1 large tablespoon coconut oil
- 5 drops essential oil ( I used 100% Jasmine oil)
- Whip in your mixer for about 4 minutes until light and creamy.
- Wash your metalware with hot soapy water. I then used white wine vinegar and wiped down my bowl and mixer, just to make sure any trace remaining oils were gone.
1966 Called And It Wants The Wooden Salad Bowls Back
These vintage monkey pod salad bowls have been hidden for almost 40 years and it’s time for them to dust off their bell bottoms and come out and party. Mid century buffs are collecting these again and vintage old sets like this one are hard…
Southern Fried Tofu – Wait, What? House-Autry Breader
House-Autry Mills was sending me one of their flavorful products to try, so I was excited to see which one I would get! As a fan of all food Southern, I was hoping for Hush Puppy mix because that’s simply something we don’t get enough…
Olde Williamsburg Embroidery Hanging – Go Home Tom, You’re Drunk
Word on the street is that embroidery kits are hot again. Now you’re wondering what street I hang out at aren’t you? I found this completed vintage hanging (unframed) and instantly fell in love because of how vibrant the colors are. I also became enamoured because some grandmother put painstaking effort into what is essentially a bar scene.
The Raleigh Tavern in Olde Williamsburg is a real historical building that you can visit. Established about 1717, planters and merchants from all over the colony would stop by to play dice in the gaming room, feast in the dining room and of course get drunk. This was a Virginia hotspot where many parties were thrown. In fact, a young Thomas Jefferson got tanked and made an ass out of himself in front of a woman he was infatuated with. When he got home, he did a late night ‘drunk call’ (or letter in this case).
“In the most melancholy fit that ever any poor soul was, I sit down to write to you. I had dressed up in my own mind such thoughts as occurred to me, in as moving language as I know how, and expected to have performed in a tolerably creditable manner. But, good God! when I had an opportunity of venting them, a few broken sentences, uttered in great disorder, and interrupted with pauses of uncommon length, were the too visible marks of my strange confusion.”
How embarrassing, right? Jefferson totally blew it with the hot chick!
In this fabulous embroidered scene there is a man parking his horse out front in what appears to be the Handicapped Only spot. The woman behind him works for the Ye Olde Parking Division and is about to give him a ticket.
A bar wench stands in the doorway of the Tavern and surveys the vomit on the stairs from the previous night of hell raising. She wipes the sweat off her brow as her 100% woolen dress clings to her in the Virginia humidity. She starts down the stairs to clean up the mess, as the barf will no doubt begin to attract flies in the mid-morning sun.
A young Thomas Jefferson sits on the bench out front of the Tavern. He has a doozy of a hangover, and clings to the bench for the world is still spinning. Go Home, Tom. You’re still drunk.
On December 5, 1776, a group of College of William and Mary students gathered in the Apollo Room and founded Phi Beta Kappa. So Phi Beta Kappas, just so you know, you were clearly not the first ones to throw up on those steps.
Vintage Bucilla Americana “Olde Williamsburg “Crewel hanging. The fabric is a little yellowed and there is a small stain (of Grandma stitchery blood?) by the words Raleigh Tavern. It’s ready to be framed.
Vintage Tin Lunch Pail
My daughter slung her 100 pound backpack over her shoulder and announced that she would not be needing a lunch today because it simply would not fit in her bag. Whoa, whoa, whoa, young lady! We are not going to forgo sustenance because of book…
Yellow Sedum Succulents Make It Pop!
It looks like the succulent craze isn’t slowing down. If anything, succulent artistry is getting more detailed and fun varietals are finally getting the spotlight. When creating succulent landscapes or small succulent gardens, a mixture of colors and textures help elevate the design. My favorite…
Have an Itchy Pet? Salmon Oil May Be the Remedy
I just started adding TerramaxPro Premium Wild Salmon Oil to both my pet’s food to improve skin and coat texture. Despite the fact that I spend a ridiculous amount of money on quality dog and cat food, I have picky eaters. However, after adding a little salmon oil to their dry kibble,they gobbled everything up! Score! The oil from the wild caught salmon is Alaska sourced and super high in healthy omega fatty acids. I’m hoping this will help with my Golden’s sensitive skin! I’ll report back in a few weeks to see if it helps with Miss Itchy!
I know it may take a few weeks for the effects of salmon oil to really shine through, but here’s a list of proven benefits:
- EPA, one of the two omega 3 fatty acids in salmon oil, acts as an anti-inflammatory, which can help with any condition that causes inflammation of the heart, kidneys, skin, and joints.
- DHA, the other omega 3 fatty acid in salmon oil, is important in brain and eye development in puppies and kittens and is recommended for pregnant or nursing pets.
- It can help ease inflammation due to allergies, and reduce dry, itchy skin. This can be an effective way to potentially decrease the incidence of hot spots.
- It promotes a shiny, healthy coat, and may reduce shedding (For cats, this may mean fewer hairballs, since they won’t pick up as many loose hairs while grooming).
TerraMax Pro’s Premium Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil is guaranteed to contain 100% of the purest, most potent fish oil on the market to provide optimum nutrition for your pet.
Update! I have been feeding my dog this oil on her food for over 2 months now & we have noticed a difference in her itchiness! Spring is a tough time here in San Diego as there are lots of pollinating plants and spores that are irritaging to my princess. This oil is definitely helping reduce the itch and is a keeper!
* I received this product in exchange for an honest review.
Step Off Elf On A Shelf, Here Comes Marvin The Mouse
When I was a young child, we would visit my Grandparents in Florida over the holidays. They told me the story of Marvin the Mouse, a gift bearing rodent, that would come bearing a gift each night for the 12 days before Christmas. This tradition was…
A Repurposed Christmas
One of my fondest memories as a child was making our own garland for the Christmas tree. The garlands usually had a limited shelf life as we’d use real food items like cranberries, or popcorn. We also made seed balls and pinecone ornaments and hang…
San Diego Bay Food + Wine Event Foodie Picks
A day of foodie trick-or-treating was greatly enjoyed by all at the annual 2015 San Diego Bay Food + Wine event. Although it was tough to choose favorites, here are some of my picks for local San Diego Restaurants who really brought out thoughtful, beautiful and delicious bites to share with the community. Four of my picks are actually restaurants within a hotel! They also did a good job of serving the food at the correct temperature and kept pace with the flow of traffic. This is often a daunting task at big events. Some chefs will ‘bite off more than they can chew’ by creating difficult samples with many steps, and can’t get out the tastes fast enough. Or, some put out too many samples at once and food that should be served chilled ends up warm, or hot food ends up cold. The restaurants below did a great job in the whole presentation for service and explanation of food. Congrats to these stand-outs for doing a great job!
The Oceanaire – Crab cakes
Marriot Coronado Island Restaurant – Squash with Mexican Prawns
Valencia Hotel – Grilled Octopus
Solare in Point Loma’s Liberty Station – House cured swordfish belly with aceto balsamico pearls
Barleymash – Bacon wrapped cinnamon rolls
Blue Wave Bar & Grill – Ahi Poke
Rancho Bernardo Inn – Hiramasa bites
