Rings off weekends

The weekend I got engaged I forgot to put my ring back on after I moisturized my hands. I freaked out and ran back into the house, as if I could not go out in public sans engagement ring. My mom advised me to just put lotion on over it. I even studied other married women's hand moisturizing habits. I was looking for a method.

I had never had something so precious and meaningful as part of my daily wardrobe before.

I developed a weekly cleaning ritual: I'd boil filtered water for twenty seconds, put it in a wine glass with Windex, and clean my rings with a soft bristle child's toothbrush. I did this for about a year.

After a few years, I realized that having on wedding rings tells others that we're married, that we've acquired this new title.  I've learned that we're married whether the rings are off or on. That was also before we got matching  tattooed wedding rings, too, so we are branded no matter what. Read about that here, it's a good story. It does restore some peace of mind, so the freak out days are over.

Lately, we've had rings off weekends. Woah there, this does not mean hall pass (to us, anyway!)

 It means we're having so much fun buried in sand, soil or playing the ocean. It means that we're painting, planting more palms or building a gate.

 Rings off, no make up weekends are my new favorites! See:

Yacht shopping. I'll take the Princess Sarah!

Beach cookie.

Beach read and my new favorite snack. Coconut almonds!!!!!

All proceeds of this Hello Merch tank are donated to Oklahoma tornado relief. Thanks Hello Merch! (Why are my shorts so weird?)

Lunch time: Layered bean dip

And chicken fajitas

Back in the yard.

Which shade of green? Never mind hubs turned the house into a Keebler Elf Funhouse.

Snacktime smoothie

Another palm I saved from work.

 Smoothie recipe:

I use cut up fruit that I store in Ziploc freezer bags. Trust me, this makes the best slush. Stock up when it's in season!

1 Cup frozen blueberries

5 Slices frozen bananas

1/4 cup of coconut milk

1/4 cup of o.j.

5 slices of peaches

5 coconut milk frozen cubes

Pulse the frozen fruit with the liquid, adding a handful at a time until smooth. Made about 18 ounces.

                                                           Enjoy your week!!

Beach Essentials and a lil' sunscreen info

 Sometimes we have beach days, sometime just "beach hours." Beach days mean rolling coolers and packing snacks. Since our proximity allows us to head over to the ocean before work or between thunderstorms, we only need to grab a few things.

For a quick hour or two beach trip here are my must haves. Click on the links for where to buy:
1. A book or mag. (Ok, sometimes I bring a catalog because the photography is beautiful?)
2. Mineral based sunscreen such as the Badger stick and Alba Very Emollient, shown above. More on this below. I got mine at Whole Foods.
3. Cute espadrilles. Love my new Fendi Pequin espies, which are on sale at everywhere right now! If you're trecking through seaweed then bring the water shoes.
4. Shades. This should be #1. What was I thinking? Calico Shades from Anthropologie.  Sometimes I bring the polarized if I'm going to be in the sun a lot.
5. A cool towel and a chair. I love my Fresco Towel. They're like art. I can no longer find mine but this and this is close.
6. An umbrella. This Sport-Brella is amazing. It shields like SPF 50, and it's like a tent. It's the best beach investment ever.
7. A Frisbee or a junior sized football. The regular ones hurt my junior  fingers. I recommend an Ultimate Frisbee to cut through the winds.

So about sunscreen. 

I used it religiously.

 I've even purchased something crazy like SPF 80.

 I realized my skin was breaking out in little rashes and I got more acne in the face. A lot of this is due to other products and the humidity here, but the rashes on my body made me feel like something wasn't right with my sunscreen. Then I read Food Babe's article on the damaging effects of sunscreen on your health, and began to change my regimen. Seriously, read it and do some research. The Oxybenzone seeps into your skin and can cause allergic reactions. I used the Alba stuff just know and my skin feels soft. In fact, the ingredients of the Badger stick are this:

 
It contains EVOO! I eat that, so yeah, I can have that on my skin. The Environmental Working Group's Website contains lots of useful information about sunscreens. Check out Nine Surprising Facts about Sunscreen, and Best Sunscreens. 

I am not dermatologist, so ask one if you have concerns. We're told to prevent skin cancer by slathering on sunscreen, never mind that this stuff is potentially harmful. For now I'm just gonna use the natural stuff (less than the conventional products because it's more expensive), and limit my sun time. 

Happy Summer and stay safe out there!

-LRW
   

In our element

...which is now sun, sand, and the Atlantic.
Everyone wants pics of the beaches, so here they are. Enjoy!

Honeymoon series; Vol.1

 We finally took a vacation, six months after we were married. This was a weekend reserved for an EJ trip that didn't work out and I insisted that we do something "honeymoon-like." We went to Wilmington and beached at Fort Fisher.

  Then I got this crazy idea: why don't we do a series of honeymoons? For the amount of time and money that most people honeymoon, we can take several short trips to different places. I suggested a minimum of five weekend trips to different places within a year and a half of our marriage (I'm extending our newlywed status for six months because we just now took a trip). I like the idea of seeing many places and spreading it out in time. I've heard stories of people trying to cram too much in to their destination honeymoon and just end up the opposite of relaxed. This is great for us, being between jobs (Shawn) and career changes (me, for the past 4 years!).  I'm thinking of seeing a new city's nightlife, checking out a cabin in the mountains, and a winery with a bed & breakfast. We don't have to go far yet, as long as its not a staycation. Just another crazy twist on tradition for the new Whitmires...One day, I'll show him Europe and the Philippines and one day he'll show me Madagascar and Australia.

  This particular beach trip was just a starter trip. We invited friends and brought Bully, so it wasn't just Shawn and me. We stayed in a cheap motel that allows dogs and packed our lunches.  It was fun and we got some couple time before our friends Brian & Chrissy met us down after a day. Shawn & I had a really good dinner at the Riverboat Landing in downtown Wilmington, with our own private balcony. This was Bully's first beach trip, and well, let's just say that he prefers mountains and trails. I think he thinks of the ocean as a giant bath. He was reluctant to go further into the ocean and didn't realize that he might be able to swim. He did enjoy running away from the waves, though. I'm just glad we could show this to him.

Just look at all our hijinks':

Sweet  Sand Couch!

It's been a dream of his.

At Mixto, Downtown Wilmington

One tuckered out Bully Wooly.

signing out y'all!