growth & galveston

I miss my Galveston. Daily. Especially at this time of the year. We generally visit in the fall, and I inevitably begin to crave the coast in the spring. Just in time for a looooooong six months of waiting for our vacation. Several years ago, my Aunt B, my mom, and a few other delightful ladies decided to begin an annual tradition. We have since dubbed it the "SWDFF". (Sisters' Wing Ding Fall Fling) The very first SWDFF boasted only five members, and in recent years, our number has grown to as many as 11. The rules of the SWDFF are simple. Rule number one: Ladies only. Rule number two: There are no other rules. I am not alone in my longing for this escape. In fact, just this evening I reminisced with my Aunt B on the phone (she in Dallas, I in KC) about some of our lovely adventures and 'homes'. For the past six years, we have held the SWDFF in Galveston, TX. We would not change it for the world. In fact, the one year we would have been unable to visit in the fall due to the hurricane, we were fortunate enough to have booked our trip for May, or we would have been forced to miss visiting our beloved Galveston for a year. (Galveston, our hearts broke for you when we watched the news and witnessed your losses.)

We always make it a priority to stay as close to the beach as physically possible, and we are consistently amazed at the feeling we get when we pull in to 'our place'. We have not stayed in the same beach house each year, but the feeling remains the same. From the moment 'our' realty company hands us the keys with a warm smile and a hearty welcome, I always know that our stay will be wonderful. I don't know how they do it, and I am a service professional, but they always make us feel like a part of their family. They always provide us with everything we could possibly need, and they make you feel like you are their most important guest. There is nothing like pulling into our sandy drive, climbing a full flight of stairs with arms overladen with luggage, items which we will not even glance at for the duration of our stay (guitar, A? Yes, I remember. :o), and our bag full of Real Simple magazines. My favorite part is the moment AFTER climbing all those stairs. The moment I step into the spotless, charming, welcoming environment of our home away from home. The moment when I drop countless pillows, bags, beach towels, and sunglasses on the floor, and walk to the floor to ceiling windows and glimpse the ocean. The moment I take in the pristine kitchen where we will laugh, talk, make picnic lunches, play games, and discuss American Idol, Desperate Housewives, or darling T's ballet lessons. The moment I realize our 14 hour drive is OVER, and it is time to relax. For the past six years, we have stayed in many different homes, but we continue to use Century 21 Bay Reef Realty. Honestly, we wouldn't dream of going to anyone else. As if the stellar customer service and friendly staff were not enough, they also offer a return guest discount. Many of you may not have visited Galveston, but I would highly recommend it. Given all of the vacation horror stories I have heard from others, I wouldn't risk renting from anyone but Bay Reef Realty. And when you go, make sure to visit the McAlister's on Seawall. We have spent many a leisurely afternoon lunching on their sun deck and enjoying the ocean breeze with some of the best sweet tea around in hand. You can't miss the "Sonic by the Sea", either. The Strand promises many delightful hours of shopping for trinkets, antiques, art, and there is even a life size chess board for the kid in you. Who knows, maybe I'll run into you at the Moody Gardens! :o) To distract myself from missing Galveston today, I ran to Lowe's and picked up a Tiny Bee Asiatic Lily and transplanted it this morning. It's no Kahala Beach, but enjoy!

fruit & family

On Friday, we received a package from the good people at Peter Rabbit Organics. They sent us some samples of their new Fruit Puree Pouches to try! Their new treat has no added sugar, preservatives or artificial ingredients, and they are artfully packaged in pouches that are fun for kids from all walks of life! I was a bit skeptical upon first inspection, because the pouches were quite... Well, squishy, for lack of a better word. Kids, however, will be enamored by this. :o) There are three flavors at this time: Mango/Banana/Orange, Strawberry/Banana, & Apple/Grape. My favorite is the Apple/Grape, and J likes the Mango/Banana/Orange combo. The texture is different than I expected-it's incredibly similar to applesauce, which is a GOOD thing. Upon inspection, the Apple/Grape pouch contains 80 calories. 0 Fat. 0 Cholest. 19g Carbs. 19g Sugars. 9% Vitamin C. All in all, not too terrible a snack for your little ones. Or your big ones. :o) We will definitely be looking for them in the grocery stores, and I am sure many other people will too! This weekend also marked my brother and B's first wedding shower. It was a fun, Mexican Riviera-themed party, and I had a great time visiting with family. After the shower, I spent time at my parent's house, playing games and talking with my siblings and parents. Those of you that have seen the movie "While You Were Sleeping" may recall a certain scene in which the family is having Christmas dinner. During this scene, there are approximately 14 different conversations taking place at the same time and at the same table. If you did not grow up in a large family, this would probably be quite overwhelming to you. For us, that was just part of daily life. In fact, when one of us is absent, it seems too quiet. I have six younger siblings, ranging in age from 24 to 9. It is not unheard of to go from discussing politics to discussing Weird Al's latest in a matter of minutes. And yet, I wouldn't change it for the world. You can imagine, in a house of nine people, how many sibling tussles and arguments could occur, and don't get me wrong- we definitely had our fair share. That is probably the reason that I am so grateful for the relationships we have now. Driving home from Excelsior Springs yesterday, my little brother N, who is 13, surprised me with a comment. "M," he said. "Yes?" I replied. "I am really glad that you are my sister." We have recently extended our family through marriages, and we will be gaining another sibling in a few short months. I am thankful for each and every one of them, and love saying that I have THREE sisters and SEVEN brothers. :o) The world would be a darker place for me without each and every one. I will leave you with this shot I took from our patio this afternoon. It reminds me of the growth, beauty and new beginnings that come with this season.

breathing & beginnings

I'm not sure how many of you suffer from sinus headaches, but living here in KC, J & I are both plagued with them frequently. Especially at this time of year! I wanted to tell you all about our newest God-send. I purchased the Dreamtime Breathe Easy Face Pillow for J as part of his Valentine's present. He is completely addicted to it, and so am I. I purchased it for around $20, and I can not tell you how much more I would pay having used it. The pillow is formulated for headache relief and easier breathing. We love that you can either put it in a zip-lock bag and freeze it OR heat it in the microwave! Our favorite use is to warm it in the microwave in 30 second increments for a total of a minute and a half. The heat activates the aromatherapy, and it is AMAZING! The combined aromas of eucalyptus, spearmint, and peppermint work quickly to dissipate sinus headaches and promote easy breathing. The weight of the eye pillow utilizes acupressure, which feels amazing against your forehead. Allergies are running rampant this time of year, and when you get fed up, check out Dreamtime. (FYI: I purchased this in February, but we use it so often and love it so much that we felt compelled to share our new favorite with you all.) On a more exciting note, J & I have decided to begin a vacation fund! We are going to save all of our change for the next six months, and take a weekend vacation with the money we have saved. Our rules are simple: We must be able to drive to our destination within 4 hours. We must be able to cover gas, meals, and purchases with the change we have saved, and we must visit somewhere we've never been before. We will be saving every penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Once a month, we will roll our change and buy dollars, tens, twenties, etc. (The larger denominations, we hope!) This may sound silly to many of you, but we have decided to retrain ourselves on the value of the dollar. It seems that we often pay more than we must for everyday things, and our goal in this project is to fully realize exactly where we spend every penny. SO, six months from now, we will post the total we were able to save, the destination to which we traveled, and exactly how much we spent for each activity/meal/etc. We are excited to begin this adventure, and will look forward to our reward in six months!

real simple & roses

I am in love with real simple magazine. Ever since my dearly beloved Aunt B first let me read one of her copies, I have been head over heels! Thanks to this same aunt, I am the thrilled recipient of a year's subscription, and I can not get enough of them. I received this month's edition, and began pouring over it the moment I got home from work this evening. My first delight? Their article "6 New Uses For a Coffee Can". I plan to use three of the suggested six options. Delight #2: "3 New Uses for Old Things". Who knew you could put your waterlogged cell phone in a bowl of rice over night to dry it out?! (Those of you that know exactly how many times I have drowned a perfectly respectable cell phone will realize just how useful this article was to me!:o) I can not WAIT to try the recipe on page 242 for Cheddar Chicken. It sounds delish. Oh! And the romaine salad with tomatoes and bacon on page 258. You get the picture. It's simply one of my guilty pleasures...but I don't have to feel very guilty since most of the articles involve saving money or healthy living. Or cleaning. So, it's good AND good for me. If you've never read one, CHECK IT OUT. You will not be sorry. Today I found some seeds I purchased in February, with the intention of creating a mini outdoor escape on our patio for this spring/summer. I have long been known as the "Black Thumb" in our family. Yes, I have managed to kill a cactus. Yes, I know how difficult that is supposed to be. Yes, I have managed to kill aloe vera. Again, yes, I know. HOWEVER, I hold high hopes for this year. I am hoping that I have not missed my planting window of opportunity, and I plan to do some container shopping this weekend so that I can begin my project. My hope is that posting about this goal will motivate me to take extreme care with my flowers and plants, knowing that you will expect to see pictures of my progress...or lack thereof. Any suggestions would be MORE than welcome. I am hoping that perhaps J possesses a little green in his thumb that will negate my knack for failure in this. :o) We shall see. My Granny has agreed to give me some starts from her beautiful back yard, which is basically a flower wonderland. How I hope that some of that will rub off on me! The folks at Ferry-Morse have made it easy for me, and fortunately the instructions on the back of the packets show that this is the prime time to plant my flowers! I chose Thumbelina Zinnias, Lilliput Zinnias(Pompon variety), Heavenly Blue Morning Glories, and a generic Annual Cut Flower Mixture. If all goes as planned, I will have some lovely flowers all throughout this season, and can use them in vases to liven up our home! And, ok, so I'm not about to undertake a rose bush, but I'm going for the alliteration thing and r and z didn't really work. :o) Think green thoughts for me! :o) m

puddles & pressing

Crazy Missouri weather. 80 degrees one moment, thunder/lightning/rain/hail the next. Throw crazy strong winds into the mix, and you have yourself a genuine Missouri day. ;o) We purchased a new iron yesterday, not out of need, but because it was SUCH a great deal, so here is the promised review. We bought the Shark Intelligent Electric Iron, model GI490. It boasts many features, including Burst of Steam, Atomizer Spray Button, Variable Steam Control, Electronic Temperature Control, Anti-Drip Function, LED Display Panel, Water Filling Inlet, Built-in Anti-Calcium Filter, Stainless Steel Soleplate, and a Pivot Cord. I will tell you this: This is a fantastic iron. I am not exactly your regular Martha Stew when it comes to ironing, but this morning even I got it right. This iron is VERY easy to use, and the functions/knobs/bells & whistles are all very self-explanatory. I felt as though I finished my pressing in no time flat! This may or may not be because I was enamored with using such a shiny new 'toy', but nonetheless the result was the same. I would HIGHLY recommend this iron for anyone and everyone. The price, as I mentioned last night, is fanTASTic, it's pretty, and incredibly functional. This may be one of our best purchases in quite some time. Check it out. I absolutely love the iron we already had, which is a smaller, more compact version by Rowenta. We're just suckers for a good deal. :o)

movies & meals

Tonight, J and I visited the brand new Studio Movie Grill at Zona. (North of the river near KCI.) We wanted to have a date night, and a cousin of mine posted a link for free tickets to the new location. (Yes, I'll put the link at the end of this post for our lovely readers' enjoyment.:o) The coupon offers two free admissions to a movie at the SMG at Zona. You simply print it off and take it to the ticket counter. The only stipulations are that the tickets must be for the same movie/showtime, so you can not use one for Tuesday and one for Wednesday. So take a friend or date! We arrived early, not really knowing what to expect. After giving them our coupon, they handed us a menu and showed us to our theater. We saw The Ghost Writer. We were the only ones in the theater at first, so we took our time checking out the 'lay of the land'. Well, let me rephrase. J took HIS time figuring out the optimum seating. :o) There are not as many seats as you would find in a regular theater, naturally, to accommodate the tables. Two chairs per table. When we were ready to order, after perusing their surprisingly large menu, we simply pressed the red button on the coaster tray. A server came and took our order, and we simply waited while watching the previews. The prices were honestly not that bad. I ordered a Dr. Pepper and the buffalo chicken strips, which were served with french fries. J ordered a pepperoni pizza and a side of the sweet potato fries, also with a Dr. P. The service was very prompt, and when we needed a refill, we simply pushed the service button again. The food was pretty good. No complaints from either of us. The portions were fairly large. Neither of us could finish our meals. I was not crazy about the chairs. J felt very comfortable in them, but I disliked that they were rolling chairs. They just felt a little out of place, but honestly, that is probably because it was just a new experience. We enjoyed the movie. It held my interest the whole time, but J thought it dragged a bit in the middle. I did NOT care for the ending, but I won't spoil it for you this time. All in all, it was a great date! We both had fun, it was a new experience, and it was a beautiful night to do some walking around Zona! The breeze reminded me of our trips to the coast, in Texas. Ocean, how I miss you! I will say, I'm not sure I'm crazy about the whole combining-dinner-with-the-movie thing. It basically limits all chance of conversation to the drive there and back. We'll be returning, however. I mean, how can you not? You don't have to miss the movie to go refill your drink, and it's at LEAST a dollar less per drink than your average AMC or Dickinson theater! After the movie, we swung by Walmart to pick up a new ironing board, and ended up purchasing a few items that we'll be reviewing this week. FYI: Walmart @ Barry Road offers the Shark Professional Electronic Iron (model Gi490) for only $29.96! (Recent rollback from $39.86. So recent, that it did not ring up correctly and the cashier had to walk over with J to verify. She could not believe that they were selling it at such a low price, but lo and behold, it was no mistake!) Target=$49.99. Sears=$51.99. We honestly were not in the market for an iron, but could not pass the deal up. I plan to use it tonight and will review it tomorrow. I didn't see many on the shelf, and I do not know if the price is uniform at all Walmarts in our area. In fact, even Walmart.com shows the price at $39.86. So perhaps it is a mistake, but if you are in the market for an iron, I'd head over tomorrow. :o) Even at the online price, that's a steal. Free Movie Tickets @ SMG @ Zona!!!

walmart & waves

We have a love-hate relationship with Walmart. Love that they carry nearly every essential item we could possibly need; hate that our Walmart is so over-crowded 99.9% of the time. I was forced to run in to ours today, on Easter Sunday, and was quickly reminded why I so rarely venture there. Per usual, they had moved various items all around, so I could not easily find the items I needed. Also, they were completely out of Dr. Pepper. This may be a bit rant-ish, but come on, really? WALMART is OUT of Dr. Pepper? What the?! Pepsi will suffice, for tonight. I did run into a good friend and his g/f, so that was a nice surprise. I am safely home from my outing, and am thinking back over the day and the performance of my new shampoo, conditioner, and liquid curling gel by SexyHair. The first thing I noticed when I opened my shampoo bottle was the delectable scent. Truly, this is the most wonderful scented shampoo/conditioner that I have ever tried in my life, so they were already off to a great start, in my book. :o) I began to lather up, and was amazed at how luxurious the shampoo felt. It was as though I could literally feel my hair getting more thick and more volume as a lathered. After rinsing, my hair still felt very thick. The conditioner had a slightly different scent, but it was definitely within the same scent family, and I had to use very little to work through all of my hair, roots to ends. Again, I was startled that my hair felt so different before I had even dried it. I toweled my hair dry, parted it, and proceeded to follow the instructions for the liquid curling gel. As I worked the product through my waves, I found that I disliked the texture of the gel. It was fairly thin, nearly runny. It did leave my hands pretty sticky, but that is common with gels. After washing my hands, I used the diffuser on my hairdryer to blow it out on low heat. I was astounded by how much more curl my hair had. My curls were springy, and held their shape all day long. I had hardly ANY frizz, which I loved, and my hair had a very healthy shine to it. I prefer my hair to simply have some wave, but after using these products, I can safely say that my hair was CURLY. So, they do live up to their promise. I think that someone with more natural curl would probably like these products a little more, because I could see these products really working for someone with thick, very curly hair. I will continue to use it, and I may buy it again in the future. At Ulta, I paid $12.95 for the shampoo, $13.95 for the conditioner, and $15.95 for the curling gel. Today, I found the same products online through amazon.com for about $1.50 less per bottle. (However, keep in mind that what I paid at Ulta was full price, and I'll be going back with my receipt to be reimbursed for the 20% off, so it should be a little less than what is listed on amazon when all is said and done.) Bottom line: This product is great. I will use it. If you have curly, not wavy hair, it is DEFINITELY for you. m

sunshine & samurais

Today was beautiful! Oh, how we've missed the sunshine this winter! After a brief stint at work, I swung by my local Ulta Beauty to pick up some new shampoo & conditioner. If you've never heard of Ulta, be sure to check them out. They offer fantastic products at affordable prices, & they have amazing specials. I forgot my coupon today, but they offered to reimburse me for the difference of my purchase if I bring it in with my receipt in the next few days! That is excellent customer service! I decided to try some new product & review it for ya'll. :o) I have decidedly wavy hair. Not curly, not straight. I wavered between a Paul Mitchell product & the Sexy Hair line. I ended up going with the Curly Sexy Hair Shampoo & Conditioner. I also bought the Curly Sexy gel to try. SO, look forward to that review tomorrow. After making my purchase, I received a text that some dearly loved relatives had unfortunately been locked out of their house! J was already home when I got there, so we headed south of the river to rescue them. :o) We arrived around 8:45 or so, and after unlocking the house, we all decided to have dinner in Independence at a japanese steakhouse called Samurai Chef. Mom H and Dad D had been before, and really enjoyed it, but it was our first time to visit the restaurant. Our first impression was that it was pretty large for that type of restaurant, when compared with Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse (north of the river), and with Fuji Japanese Steakhouse (Liberty). The decorations inside were not over the top, the lighting was a bit brighter than in most restaurants of that type. I really liked the waterfall koi pond in the middle of the restaurant. The service was very prompt, and our server was on the ball regarding our drink refills. (I mention this, because as J is a restaurant manager, we tend to notice that kind of thing very quickly.) I ordered the chicken and steak combo, and J ordered the New York Steak. The meal started with a kind of beef broth with a few slices of mushrooms and some noodles and green onion. The broth had the potential to be great, as most soups we've had in similar restaurants are of the chicken broth variety. Unfortunately, it was incredibly salty. When we asked, the server mentioned that the saltiness depended on which cook prepared it, and that she frequently tasted it before her shift and 'watered it down' if necessary... Not quite sure how we felt about that. HOWEVER, Samurai Chef redeemed itself with the salad. The dressing was great. It tasted a bit like some sort of thousand island, but with more pepper. We really loved it. We would also HIGHLY recommend ordering the egg rolls as an appetizer if you are hungry, because they were phenom. We both ordered fried rice with our meals, rather than steamed, so I can't comment on that. The fried rice was excellent. It was not overloaded with vegetables, like so many are. Our steaks were both cooked exactly to our specifications, and the veggies that were served with the meal were great! My chicken was amazing too, almost enough to make me choose Samurai Chef over Gojo's... Which is saying a lot if you know me at all. :o) After the meal, we were served a small dish of sorbet. It was delish, but I was so full I could only handle a bite or two. All in all, it was a good experience. Our 'Samurai Chef' could have been more involved in the presentation portion, but he may have been influenced by the three shots of sake he took while cooking for us... That added a bit of color to the experience, but all in all, we'll be going back. :o) I will also add, that I was thrilled that they serve Mr. Pibb, rather that Dr. P. Tune in tomorrow for my review of Curly Sexy Hair products.

m

clashes & crashes

Today, J & I went with my brother, R, to see Clash of the Titans in 3D at AMC. We had seen multiple previews and were understandably hyped to see it. First of all, I would just like to go on record that we will NEVER go to see a movie on a Friday morning again. FAR too busy for our tastes. Then again, we always go on weekdays because AMC in our area offers $5 tickets Monday through Thursday. It's easier on the wallet, and the crowds are minimal, at most. The trailers of Clash implied epic battles and fantastic graphics. Suffice it to say, we were less than impressed. The graphics were good, and the movie held our interest, however, the fight scenes left much to be desired. In all honesty, we were pretty disappointed. The Kraken, for example. Trailers lent images of a blood thirsty beast with many rows of teeth and the desire to kill all of mankind. Imagine our surprise when he merely squashed a bunch of buildings and walls. We expected a monumental fight scene between Perseus and the Kraken, as well as between Perseus and Hades. Sadly, this was not the case. In all reality, this movie was anti-climactic. Yes, Perseus wins, but not on his own, as he insists that he shall throughout the movie. The Kraken is slain by staring at the head of Medusa, which Perseus had dislodged from her body previously. (Which he was able to get by using the coin Zeus gave him to bribe his way across the River Styx.) Hades was banished back to the underworld with hardly a word. (And the aid of Zeus, once again, through Perseus sword and a convenient bolt of lightning from the gods.) Having said that, the 3D element was fun, we enjoyed Pegasus, the movie did not drag, and it was worth seeing. Just don't set your hopes too high. This is no Lord of the Rings: Return of the King or Avatar. m+j&r

summer & the city

In an effort to cut back on expenses and be a little more... shall we say thrifty? J and I decided to look for some affordable/free things to do in KC this summer to fulfill our whimsy for fun in the sun while going easy on the checkbook. :o) I found that Miller Light, 96.5 The Buzz & 98.9 The Rock are hosting some fantastic FREE concerts at the KC Live! stage in the Power & Light District! Rock the Block headliners include: Better Than Ezra, Blues Travelers, The Bravery, Eve 6, Filter, & The Republic Tigers. We have not seen any of those bands live, so we are planning to attend most if not all of the shows, if possible. Reviews will follow, naturally. :o) The FREE concert series in the P&L District also includes Hot Country Nights, sponsored by Bud Light, with headliners including Cory Morrow, Craig Morgan, Dierks Bentley, Joe Nichols, Keith Anderson, and many others. We're not the biggest country fans, but I might be able to drag J to a couple of those, too. Hey, it doesn't cost anything at all if you're over 21. Why the L not? ;o) Rock the Block concerts always start at 8, but if you arrive early, you can register for VIP parties and to win some prizes/giveaways from The Buzz, The Rock, and Angels Rock Bar. Hot Country Nights presents concerts every Thursday night through September 3rd. Concerts always begin at 7, and there will be giveaways weekly from 38 the Spot, Q104, and PBR Sky.

For those of you north of the river, or those south that don't mind driving a bit, Zona Rosa has several family friendly events that cost NOTHING and sound like a lot of fun. For example, the Zona Rosa Summer Concert Series, hosted all throughout the summer, every Friday and Saturday night at the Town Square. Each concert is completely FREE. Just bring your lawn chairs and relax! Or how about the Festa Italiana, June 4th-6th? Or even the Zona Rosa Farmer's Market, every Tuesday all summer, from 4-6pm?

These are just a few different tight budget options that we found in our spare time today. As we find more, we will be sure to post them. The economy has us all on a short rope these days, so the more FREE stuff we find, the better!

We can not wait to attend some of these events! Hope to see you there!

starbucks & stars hollow

I would love to live in Stars Hollow. Yes, really. Yes, I know it's a fictional place, with fictional characters and buildings. And yet, I pine for it. As I sip my Tall Iced Caramel Macchiato (upside down)
, I wonder. What would it be like to live in a town where everyone knows everyone else's business? As it is, I do not know the names of our neighbors that live across the breezeway, let alone what they do or who they really are. I know that they seem to be on a frequent caller plan with our local police department, but that is about the extent of it. I can not even imagine going to a wake for an acquaintance's cat. Nor attending and participating in a 24 hour dance til you drop competition for charity, just to be involved in my community. Or dropping by a friend's for breakfast, unannounced, just because. So, why do I long for it? I've been contemplating our addiction to Gilmore Girls, and wondering why it is that we can not get enough of it. It's not the fantastic writing, or the real-life emotions. Honestly, I think it is the myriad of connections between the characters. The stamina of their friendships, and the depth of their interactions. Our world has become so busy that it often feels as though we have not really had a conversation in days. That doesn't mean we haven't spoken with anyone. We do. Dozens of people each day. "How's it going?" "Fine, you?" "Good!" does not constitute a real connection. A formality, yes. A courtesy, yes. Connection? I think not. J & I were talking about this not long ago, and the vast majority of people are not motivated by money, or status, or things. They are motivated by their connections and relationships with others. Status, money, things... These are all mere avenues to what we mistakenly believe will bring us more or better relationships. Throughout this blog, along with reviewing various items and experiences, we will also be examining ourselves and attempting to make a change in our lives. We want to really connect to those with whom we come into contact on a daily basis, however random some chance meetings may be. We hope ya'll enjoy the ride. :o) ♥m