My outfit Monday

Slowly, but surely, every. single. pound. I lost a couple years back has returned.

(maybe you didn't even know I had lost poundage, but I did)

I'm not sure when OR how...but those cursed pounds are back.

And so are the loose and "comfy" clothes.

Case in point:




Cardigan: Maurices; Dress: JC Penneys
Shoes: TJ Maxx



Anyway,  I decided to tell you the above story because it's my way of explaining why outfit posts have been so sparse and why they probably will be for a while.  You see, I 'm not loving my non-maternity, maternity outfits, the way they fit, OR even the pictures I see of them or myself in them right now.

Please don't see this as a cry for sympathy or even that I'm really feeling bad about things, or myself.

Nope.  Neither of those really.

The above story (and picture) is also a reminder to myself of what needs to be done and a way to move me (once again) into a forward motion.

Pretty simple.  Just like this ol' outfit.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

I've been fascinated with this recipe ever since I saw the movie Serendipity, where they went to a restaurant by the same name (hint: Serendipity) and had a wonderful frozen treat...that's right: Frozen hot chocolate.  This recipe is adapted from epicurious.com- with a few additions of my own (they will be in parentheses).  It was delightful.  Give it a try if you like before it gets too cold out!

photo borrowed from this blog

Ingredients

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates ( I just used good ol' Nestles)

2 teaspoons store bought hot chocolate mix ( I just used a full pouch of instant cocoa mix for a more chocolaty taste)

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cups ice

(4-5 scoops of ice cream)

Whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

Preparation

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted.

Add the cocoa and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture, ice cream and the ice.

Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw. . . .or both! I had no chocolate shavings, whipped cream OR goblets.  But it was delicious all the same.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Frrrozen-Hot-Chocolate-Serendipitys-Best-Kept-Secret-109560#ixzz26PaiZjG8

Friday Favorites!



Maxi skirts are by no means new to the clothing world ( I dare not say fashion because I know nothing of  "fashion"- only what I like). And maxi skirts are what I LOVE right now!  Seriously, they are like dressed up, liquid, sweatpants. One can dress them up or down. You can wear them at home or when you go out.....you can literally wear them anywhere and still feel okay.

Pinterest



Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  I had my first latte last Friday and was not disappointed by any means.  I look forward to my next one, then the next, then the next.  You get the idea...

This song piques my interest every. time.  Unfortunately, I ask my husband the name of the band every. time.

Neither one ever gets old. 

 By the way the name of the band is Imagine Dragons.  The name of the song is It's time.  The video is kind of boring, so if you just close your eyes and listen you'll be happier in the end.



Films by Merchant Ivory productions.  They are slow, and tell quite a story, but sometimes leave you thinking "that's it?"

I've only seen a few, one being "Remains of the day," and I loved it.  Aaron was bored out of his poor A.D.D. mind. Not me.

That's it for now!  Have a lovely weekend and I'll catch up with you later.

Words to live by (this month and maybe always)

I heard these words quoted by an excellent speaker this past weekend and I can not get them out of my head.  They have become somewhat of a personal anthem for me.



Pinterest



Deep, huh?  But let's not stop there.  Then I stumbled upon this one that felt the same way about it!



Pinterest



I know, right!? But wait for it....then there's this simple truth:

Pinterest

What/where/how did these people think these things up on their own?!!

And last, but certainly not least

(long, tired nights full of tears can attest to this one...so I've heard...)

Pinterest, pinterest, pinterest

So those are the words of wisdom I stumbled upon on (you guessed it) Pinterest, that I wanted to share!

Have a good one!

My outfit Monday

My photos still leave much to be desired

(is that the way the phrase goes...?)

The location, focus and poses are just not right.

But to be honest, I can't promise improvements will be made anytime soon.

 We'll See.  In the meantime, here are a couple recent summer outfits.



Top: Maurices; Shorts: Old Navy (old); Shoes: Payless (old)



Pay no attention to the mess in the background of the next photo.  It's called my closet...and it is a messy one.  I can only wonder who could have done this to an otherwise ship-shape closet.  But as a side note, we had guests and I felt silly snapping photos of myself when they were around....thus the closet.

Cardigan: Maurices; Top: Maurices(old)
Skirt: Old Navy; Shoes: Old Navy (old)



Pinspiration: DIY laundry detergent

Anyone who has had a conversation with me recently knows how much I love Pinterest.

In fact, I often start my sentences this way: "On Pinterest I saw......"

But I don't just pin things....well, most of the time I do.  But hey! I've actually tried out several of the things I've pinned, be it recipes, household projects and outfit ideas.

One of such is homemade laundry detergent.

Now there are several out there, but I tried this one:

DIY Laundry Detergent

If you don't want to follow the link, the ingredients are as follows:

3 bars Fels Naptha Soap (grated)
1 three lb 7 oz box Washing Soda
1 four lb box Baking Soda
1 four lb 12 oz box Borax
3.5 lbs Oxi Clean (or the store brand equivalent)

Then you simply grate the bars of soap with a cheese grater (it actually grates fairly easy and looks like cheddar cheese....so don't get confused and sample any while grating.....) and mix the ingredients together.  I did mine in layers (add roughly 1/3 of each ingredient then stirring with a wood spooning, then repeat 3 times )in an old laundry detergent box. Then you're ready to go!



This looks like a box of Kitty Litter...but it's not!



I found all of these ingredients, side by side at my local grocery store.  For close to $18 dollars and in 15 minutes, I was able to make the laundry detergent. 

Now the beauty of the "supposed" DIY detergent is that A) it is said that only 1-2 tablespoons of detergent is needed.  As a result, B) it should last me quite awhile (it is estimated by the blog where this recipe came from to last about 8-9 months).  It's also nice that it's not too full of crazy perfumes that my skin abhors.

I've used it several times already, (one load from camping) and my clothes have come out looking and smelling clean and they even feel a bit softer!

I'm pretty pleased so far and will let you know just how long it really lasts me and what I still think of it down the road.

Get out of town!

Both Aaron and I have been dying to get out of town, and so last minute, of course we finally decided to to just that....get out of town.

Our choice? Bandon and Coos Bay (referred to as "the Bay Area" but in Oregon and Not. As. Awesome...) and a portion of the coast we've never been to together (however, I was there over 15 years ago or so in case you wondered....).

Since this trip was a last minute one, we made no reservations to stay anywhere, piled our stuff in the car and drove off into the horizon.

Here are a few snapshots from our random and crazy trip:

Day one- in the car

Some healthy snacks...in case you're not familiar:
A one hairy leg, one root beer (totes street legal ) an all natural
slurpee and in going with the whole "sea theme"-swedish fish cuz
they're sooo delish!



Hyper-Me after my healthy snacks



We finally made it to Bandon and decided to check out the Historic Downtown.

And why not?

Still Day One- Bandon

A cool street lamp in "Old Downtown" Bandon



A place that was supposed to be good and serve
some amazing fish and chips....not so



Me. Fishin' and lookin' good during Shark Week
and a bald man in the back being jealous.



My handsome hubby- you may know him



Some Caramel dipped marshmallows = yum



A beautiful carved Sea horse (is that two words?)
down on the Bandon Boardwalk



Coquille River Lighthouse



An old-timey view of a jetty from the lighthouse

We also did a little shopping and decided we had seen and done enough in Bandon and decided it was time to move on AND find a place to lay our heads.  We found that not having a reservation was not so smart and ended up calling different hotels and campgrounds for availability.  There was none until someone tipped us off to one just outside of Charleston called the Bastendorff Beach Campgrounds.  It was a first come, first serve campground and we were told there were only 12 spots left.  We decided to drive there immediately and managed to find a spot.  The one we landed in wasn't bad and for $16 we weren't complaining. That night we went to a hole in the wall restaurant for a delicious bowl of clam chowder in Charleston.

Then we went to sleep to the sound of crackling fires and crashing waves.  The next day we woke up and moved up the coat to Coos Bay and North Bend.

Day two- Coos Bay

We started the next day out with a flat tire so Aaron swapped out the flat for the spare and then we had to drive 15 minutes or so to the next town, Coos Bay to a Les Schwab.  While our flat was being repaired, we walked to a nearby coffee shop.  There, we sipped coffee, read our books and planned the rest of our day.

We stumbled upon a pretty amazing Street Market and walked up and down the street.

We managed to find a tasty Apple Cider wine from Depoe Bay Winery and some Elephant Ears (doughy goodness...)

We then walked through the downtown portion of  Coos Bay, stopped by the visitor center where we heard a crazy man swear to another that there was no Japan and decided it was time for lunch.

We decided we didn't want anymore "amazing" fish and chips this time and landed on what happened to be a pretty awesome German restaurant, the Blue Heron Bistro.  It was quirky, our waiter was not meant to be a waiter and the food was delicious!



Inside the restaurant




A picture on the front of the weird menu



My meal: Brussels Mussels cooked in cider with cucumber coleslaw
and fries



Aaron enjoying his fried oyster and bacon sandwich with
a sour beer...all weird. He's gonna love this pic :)

From there we headed to Shore Acres near Sunset Bay (where we wanted to camp but they were FULL!)

It used to have a huge house, but word on the street is that it burned down, the State bought it and restored the gardens.  I'm glad they did because it was just as pretty as I remembered it when I was 16.



A beautiful garden outside of Charleston: Shore Acres





Shots from a wee little walk around the grounds of
Shore Acres



And last but not least- a coastal sunset by our campground

That is pretty much it! Hope you enjoyed it and can visit some of these places if you never have before!