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i had me hairs cut

I know, no big deal. Girls are supposed to get their hairs cut all the time….like every 6 weeks of so. Well, I work from home so few people see my hairs on a regular basis so I don’t get them cut that often. But lately my hairs have been feeling really dull and dead. And I think I’m losing some hairs. So I made an appointment and after work I got my hairs cut. I have not had a lot of really amazing experiences with hair cutting people, and they usually charge me way too much to cut all twenty five of my hairs but I thought I deserved a little perking up. And this is the result (mind you, this is the day after the appointment, i.e. it has been slept on and such:


And while it isn’t anything revolutionary I think I like it and I had a good experience with the hair cutting dude and I gave him a good tip and my hairs feel alive again. So that is what is happening in my world. Hairs got a little choppin’. That is all.

Pretzel buns make my millenium

Food epiphanies. We’ve all had them. I’ll never forget when Ctron snuck a fried cheese appetizer at a wedding we shot in Italy and while I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off Cdawg was frozen solid, fully engaged in the fried cheese moment he was having with himself. Well, one of my many “food epiphany” moments was with some friends at Suppenkuche’s biergarten. Granted, it was a beautiful sunny weekend in January, and granted we were drinking liters of foamy/bubbly beverages…

 

But their butter charcuterie pretzel knot. Oh my. It had pickles. It had butter. It had meats. It was salty. It was pretzely. It was amazing. I could have eaten 100 and then had a coronary from all the salt/fat. But I would do it (maybe).

And of course I recently had a craving for one of these knots of pure delight. It was midweek and in the evening and rain was on the horizon so we didn’t go to the wonderful biergarten…we tried to recreate this pure salty pleasure. And while it wasn’t 100% there is sure was good and sure was close.

To make:

  • If you are crafty, make your own pretzels of pretzel buns. We were not crafty and used the pretzel buns from Trader Joe’s
  • Lightly pan fry said pretzel bun in some butter.
  • Layer on some favorite charcuterie meats and pickle slices.
  • Maybe add a bit more butter if you are feeling sinful.
  • EATTTT!

Notice my peas. Yes, I lived in the mid west and I like peas. Oh, and that isn’t Fanta. It is tropical carrot juice with a splash of bubbly water but nonetheless the image of Fanta makes me want to dance.

I know you’se people are shy but I REALLY want to hear what food epiphanies you have had in your life. I like food and I like epiphanies and I like stories. Tell me!

 

something I learned from a friend: how to make whipped coconut body butter

I have to share a new blog a friend started that I just LOVE: Essence of Wellness. Having grown up in Boulder and after living nearly 10 years in the bay area and in Berkeley I **should** be more of a naturalist junkie/modern hippie but I’d say I’m half and half. I try to buy local but don’t always. I try to buy all natural and/or organic everythings but don’t always. I try to eat complex carbs but don’t always. I try to limit my sugar but don’t always. I try to shower but don’t always (ha!). I try to compost but don’t always. etc., etc. But learning how Ashley uses essential oils to create safer cleaning products, or to help ward off colds or to make her own deodorant intrigues me. She has so many good thoughts and approaches to how to make a more natural well balanced life…give it a look-see!

Since coconut water and coconut oil has been all the rage I’ve been trying to grasp what the hubbub is all about. I’m a little torn with the trend for two reasons: 1.) Most coconuts are not grown in the US thus leaving a pretty big carbon footprint for something you can drink in 2.5 seconds and 2.) the ADA (American Dietetic Association) doesn’t yet give a big raving thumbs up to coconut oil. But, I’ve heard it really is so good for you. So, what’s a girl to do? Small does are ok, right? Anyhow, while I’ve been trying to include a little more coconut oil in my diet I’ve also taken one of Ashley’s suggestions from her blog and made my own whipped coconut/lavender body butter! Yee haw! It is simple and easy and wonderful. I actually like it more than my semi expensive paraben free lavender shea lotion.

I don’t even need to illustrate this but since I have not taken any photos for fun in a little while I thought I’d show you just how easy it is to make your own lotion.

Just compile all the things you need, a whipper, coconut oil, an essential oil of choice, a spatula:


Add the coconut oil and several drops of the essential oil/s. Whip it. Whip it good. (note, the stage in the photo below is not whipped, you should whip it on high for about 6 minutes).


Put it in a tightly sealed jar and smell good and have enjoy your soft skin!

one other thing

One other thing…while in Palm Springs we made it a habit of welcoming all the folks coming into our double wide modular 55+ home with an “It’s a Small World” serenade. Notice the girl from Holland holding the flowers and the rest of us are from Africa or something with headwraps and fruit baskets on our heads (although I’m holding a Russian nut cracker doll who helped us keep the beat). We are either from Africa or Afghanistan…I’m not really sure…whatever the mind of 6 year old was dreaming up.


I’ve been out of it

I’ve been out of the blogging/e-mail world a bit, sorry about that. I guess I’ve just been enjoying life in the double-wide modular 55+ community in Palm Springs, playing Uno, sitting pool side and taking occasional jaunts to the bocce court or putting green. (Parents are attempting the snow bird life and I guess I am too). The biggest take away from my time in PS is that I’m pretty darn good at being an 80 year old. Pretty darn good indeed. A few highlights:

A trip to The Bruery. Our good college friends started The Bruery and if I have not said it enough before I’ll say it again, I’m the biggest, proudest soccer mom. Pat and Rachel are AMAZING with everything they’ve touched…from the incredible beer, to their tasting room, to their branding, to their staff (lots of good looking folks, ha!), to their incredible/professional warehouse, to their Provisions store, to the decor in all of the above, to their sweet little girl, to their amazing home…these guys are genuinely good, solid, smart, generous folks. I don’t know if we can EVER repay them all that they have done to enrich our lives and I’m not just saying that to be nice.

Then there is breakfast in bed. Or at least pampering two little girls as they watch their toons. Pretty cute. Side note: notice the retired person’s decor. Solid.

And on the last day it is now tradition to jump in the cold pool with our pajamas on. At first the girls thought it would take the flowers off their clothes or ruin their unds but when I showed them that it would all be ok they wanted to jump in all the time with their clothes on…because really…when you swim 8 out of your 24 hour day it takes a lot of effort to put your suit on, take it off, put clothes on, take them off, put your suit in, take it off, put clothes on, etc.

How to Narrow Down Your Photos – A Blurb Guest Post

In case you missed it, a friend who works at Blurb.com asked me to do a guest post on their blog sharing my process for narrowing down 2985928375938 photos to just your favorites. This is not an easy process especially since the nature of the digital world breeds trigger happy fingers. The easiest way to slim down your selection is to be a more thoughtful photographer and waiting for the perfect moment (i.e. pretend like you are shooting film and each click is $3.00!) but since people are not quite there yet I gave my words of wisdom on how to be selective. It isn’t easy, let me tell ya. When I first started and had to narrow down 1,000 photos I was lucky if I’d get it down to 650. Now I can say I have mastered the art of being choosy and can get 1,000 down to under a hundred…but this all depends on the type of shoot/story. A very big thank you to Maggie and Blurb for giving me the opportunity to share my process. If you have more thoughts or a better workflow/tactic I’d LOVE to hear!

did you hear about the new Apple release?

I’m sure you heard about the new iPad but did you hear about the other new Apple release? We were lucky enough to get to try it out for some time before the launch…it is the iStove. All old school and shit, this stove is where it is at. Great user functionality, sleek retro design and it makes cooking SO enjoyable. I love that Apple is now delving into the home appliances line…

***disclaimer: all this info is fictional. The above stove is not actually an Apple product. Simmer down Apple fanatics, no need to start camping outside the Apple store. We just put an apple sticker on our po-dunk stove to make it look a wee bit hip.

gettin’ crafty up in here

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to crafternoon. 7 ladies sitting around a table all doing a little artsy crafty project while eating treats and drinking bubbly. Some knitted, some worked on needlepoint projects, some felted balls, and some made fabric bangles. I was a little “out of the box” and painted little scenes on blocks of wood but boy did it feel good to get the creative spirit flowing in me! Not only did I dig out my paints and dust off my skills but I was totally inspired by the women around me. Yes to crafternoons. Double woot!

Disneyland!

Last time I went to Disneyland was probably about 20 years ago so going with two kiddos who have never been and who think Disneyland means going to a movie is quite the event.

The little folks agreed with me that It’s a Small World is something else. So little has changed to the ride in all these years (except it kind of smells now) and in taking a photo of the ride via instagram it looks just like it did in the 80’s. Yes, this was the ride we rode more than once.


I actually barely paid any attention to all the dolls singing at me/ brainwashing me … I was so focused on the expressions of delight, awe and wonder on the faces of the little gals!


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