-
Let’s Get Down and Dirty
I spent a recent Wednesday afternoon getting down and dirty! Outside! Eventually in the rain! (FYI–This is a family friendly blog.) I spent that afternoon volunteering for the Lake County Forest Preserve. My day off of work is Wednesday, so I was looking for something different to do. I learned that there are multiple programs and volunteer opportunities with the county forest preserve. Via the website calendar, I found a “Restoration Workday” listed for the particular date of interest to me. On that particular date, there was volunteer work available at the Native Seed Nursery , so I went and brought my teenage son with me. (He was given two…
-
The Music was Like, Omigod, Totally Awesome!
Yes, I was a teenager in the 80’s. No, I was not a “valley girl” and did not speak that way. I was, however, recently brought back to the 80’s as I attended a local summer concert. I have always loved attending outdoor concerts in the nice weather, and I have been aware that many suburbs host summer concert series. This summer, rather than just thinking about them and attending perhaps one, I would make a real effort to enjoy more outdoor live music. I had a plan. Instead of going to the different community websites and printing out their summer concert schedules, I printed out blank weekly calendar pages…
-
Eucalyptus Shower Melts–Another Pinterest Find
Double duty–I was able to try to help relieve some cold symptoms recently while simultaneously trying something new (otherwise known as “new blog material”)! In the past, I had seen various instructions for “shower melts” that help with congestion. I had also seen in the past that the various recipes often included ingredients which I did not have at home, so I decided to search on Pinterest for “shower melts” while including the words “baking soda.” I have a huge Sam’s club bag of baking soda, so I tend to have a lot of it available. I also have some essential oils, so, overall I was looking to see…
-
Steak 101
I am a vegetarian and have been since college. This was a choice based on simple preference, not on ethics or health. Meat just really does not appeal to me. The same cannot be said of my family members. I live in a houseful of carnivores. I did not do much cooking growing up, and by the time I started doing real cooking (not just heating, microwaving, or thawing), I was a vegetarian, so I never learned how to actually prepare any type of meat. My husband, on the other hand, makes great steak (I admit–I have tasted it, and it is good), and the kids LOVE it when he…
-
My 30(ish) Minute Beauty Getaway
My husband and I live in the suburbs, but we continue to see a dentist in the city. It is truly a pain in the neck to go to appointments, but she is really good, so, several times a year, we schlep downtown to see her. As long as we are making the trip into Chicago on appointment days, I do take advantage of knowing that a Sephora flagship store is close by the dental office. I usually have my appointment first while my husband uses his “parking spot karma” to find a parking place, and, weather permitting, I go outside and walk during his appointment. The weather was beautiful…
-
Brazilian Lemonade
While grocery shopping yesterday, I saw that limes were on sale, 10 for a dollar. I may not always know what prices are considered good prices, but I knew that 10 cents a lime was a good deal! I bought ten figuring that although I was not quite sure what I would do with them, I could always slice them and stick them in the freezer to add to water or iced tea at a later time. Before slicing them all up, though, I got on-line and started searching for lime-related recipes that seemed nice and simple. I was successful and found what I thought would be very appropriate to…
-
The Olive Tap–An Olive Oil Tasting Emporium
My husband and I recently spent the afternoon at The Olive Tap with its owner, Rick Petrocelly. The Olive Tap is “an olive oil tasting emporium.” We learned more than we could imaging from Rick that afternoon! Let me share just a bit of what we learned that afternoon. Here goes… Let me start with some basic starting information. Virgin olive oil is made from simply pressing the olives. This is a first press oil. Nothing else is done to it. To be called extra virgin olive oil, the oil must have no taste defects and pass strict chemical tests. Oils called “pure,” “light,” or simply “olive oil” have had…
-
Lunch at Enzo and Lucia–My Mouth is Watering Just Thinking About It
Disclaimer: My husband and I were provided a complimentary meal in exchange for sharing on this blog my honest thoughts about the experience. My husband and I had the opportunity to try a restaurant that we have known about for years but, for no particular reason, have never tried. Enzo and Lucia is an Italian restaurant in historic Long Grove. I will start by saying that this was a wonderful place for my husband and myself to share an anniversary lunch (we celebrated here one day before our 20th wedding anniversary–it just worked better with our schedules)! We had an 11:30a reservation. The restaurant was nice and quiet at that…
-
Tinted Glass with Flowers, a Pinterest Success (mostly)!
I was interested in making a little “something” for Mother’s Day (for my mom, sister, and aunt), and I have a “too large” collection of empty glass bottles saved over the years, so I decided to try something I had seen on Pinterest in the past that did not look too complex and involved items I already had at home. I wanted to try to tint some glass bottles. I used several empty Starbucks frappuccino bottles, Mod Podge Gloss Luster Finish, and food coloring. After removing the stickers from the Starbucks bottles, I used Goo Gone to remove the adhesive and nail polish remover to remove the purple stamped-on date. The…
-
I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty
I met Sara through one of my calls for “help” which I sent via a community facebook page. When I asked “Who is interested in teaching me something new?”, Sara was there for me! She is a make-up artist and beauty consultant at a local Walgreens, and I spent part of a recent afternoon having fun being “girly” and having my makeup done. We kept it simple (this time–I definitely plan to go back) because I knew that I had plans that evening to take a group of 8th graders out to see a nearby high school performance. The full-on glam look would have been overkill for a high school…
If it's not illegal, immoral, or blatantly stupid, I am willing to give it a try!
