Fancy Cheese

All my efforts to save money at the grocery store by couponing, bo-go-ing, and portioning remain futile when I see the cheese case. I went to the store for three dollar oats and spent twelve dollars on fancy cheese. This espresso cheese by Sartori is so good I once ate a whole wedge for lunch and dinner. I love the crunch of the rind, and the subsequent pick me up. Maybe I should have it for breakfast.

Fancy cheese, you are my weakness.

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!!

Happy Birthday to my mom!

 

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

I wish we could throw you a big birthday party this year. Our hearts are in Texas with you. We can't wait until your next visit. Thanks for being the best mom, and the mother I need to imitate.

 

Rainy Days off- this weekend in pictures

  

Red sky rainbow

      I look forward to days off together so much. We try to plan activities (and we say it exactly as they do in Step Brothers) that involve exploring new places, landscape planning, and shopping for the house. It rained all day Friday. It's good to know that there's stuff to do when it's not the sunny Florida that we're used to.

   This weekend we discovered a new dog park, and did a lot of landscaping. We transplanted a windmill and two foxtail palms. We spent a day of full thunderstorms at looking at fishing lures, boat dreaming, and cart racing. Surprisingly there was no beach involved at all this weekend. This old house of ours has been quite the activity. (These pictures aren't great since they were from my phone. We were busy, ya know!)
                    My pup practiced his paddle at Snyder park:

 I never realized how much he looks like a beaver in the water. He's so adaptable.

Remembering it was Fresh Friday, we stopped at Marando Farms for some fruit. The hubbs didn't even blink when he swiped his card for the organic goodies. Ha, I have changed that man!
     

I blended all this and drank it.

Hello, Bass Pro & Outdoor World. You are amazing, and not just for hunters and fishers. I am fascinated by the shooting game, fish tank, and that mosquito net sleeve shirt. 

Leopard print Sperry Topsiders would look great on our future boat, right?

  Shawn saw K1 on the way home. And we were not the only ones who thought this was a cool rainy day activity. There were plenty ten-year-olds kicking our asses on the track. By the way, t-boning the wall isn't as preventable as you would think. Yes, that was me.

 The next day we transplanted three trees, adding a little style to our landscape. We've got great trees, but they were in the wrong places. 

I'm a human clamp!

rings come off, let's get dirty!

Poor teenager had to wear braces for a year.

 Quinoa nachos and hibiscus cucumber beer are the perfect end! Till next weekend!
 

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