MY FAVS

January is the month to post favourites.  I love reading my daughter's favs.  Both of my girls have posted their favs on their blogs which always gives me good ideas of things to try.  Now it is my turn. 

Sauerkraut!  This has been my #1 discovery this past year.  I make it all the time, consume it daily and always have some in the fridge.  It has to be nonpasturized to get any health benefits from it, so I make my own.  It is cheap, simple to do,  and full of probiotics; and since probiotics are all the buzz right now, I am on trend. For sauerkraut info and instruction on making it, check out http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/video-making-sauerkraut/

I love my Coach zip around wallet.  Of all the wallets I have had, this style is my favorite.  I never lose anything out of it, there are plenty of slots for cards, it is made entirely leather, not too spendy, and a good size.  I sometimes think that I need a new wallet - a different colour  or newer, but Coach wallets really last, and mine doesn't look much different than when I bought it 3 years ago.   I am kinda done with the purses, but the wallets are probably the best value for your money of any that I have seen. 

 I love rebounding and try to do it every day for 15 minutes or more.  The health benefits are tremendous!  It circulates more oxygen to the tissues, it benefits lymphatic circulation, improves digestion, elimination, protect the joints from fatigue delivered by exercising on hard surfaces.... Google it to learn more.  You will be surprised at what it can do for you!  

Burt's Bees Shimmers - they are 100% natural lip balm with a kiss of colour and shine to nourish, moisturize and soothe your lips.  If your lips feel abused by winter, as mine do, try one of these.  

I had always been a Crest or Colgate user until I discovered this brand of toothpaste.  My teeth feel so clean when I brush with this.  

I bought a pair of black, low boots that are pretty hip.  I initially thought they were too young for me, but I wear them all the time.  (They probably are a bit too much, but I have a lot of years left before I have to wear orthotics)   I feel like a rocker when I wear them. 

I love the cooler weather because I love to layer up with sweaters.  And all sweaters should be cashmere of course.  I have a lot of cashmere sweaters, but I am always wanting to add one more to my collection. 

I really enjoy green smoothies, and love adding kale since it so healthy.  Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C and rich in calcium.  I add it to salads along with chopped spinach.  Kale keeps forever in the fridge.   Just remember to remove the bitter stem before you use eat it.

I am usually not a perfume person since I know that many people are scent sensitive, and get headaches.  But I really don't care who feels sick around me since i really love this scent.  I know it has been around forever, but I am late to discover this perfume - even though both of my daughters have worn it.  I guess it gave me a headache back then.  (I don't wear scent to church since people are intolerant of perfume there - and intolerant generally) 

This eyeliner  is really easy to manoeuvre and doesnt produce too harsh a line.  Supposedly, it also boosts lash length.  Too early to tell, but I hope so.  This brings my eye liner/pencil collection to nearly 1 million.  Too many I know, but whatevs.

These are some of my favs for 2014.  I hope you try some of them!

FALL ROAD TRIP

We spent the last few weeks travelling on our annual fall road trip.  We always visit Meg and the kids on our way down to California.  This year, we had the extra bonus of seeing Hillary in Colorado.  We drove 5000 miles this year, which is a lot, but so worth it!

This picture was taken in the spring.                             This is 6 months later.  They have grown.

The apples in the orchard were perfect and delicious!

So many apples had not been picked and were laying on the ground.  That is a lot of applesauce if someone was industrious.  We picked a large basket and ate a lot of apples that day.  

The scenery on the way to Hill's in Colorado was spectacular.  It is unlikely we will travel that road again.  Colorado has all types of landscape.  Desert, hills, mountains, sun and snow.  

We drove to Colorado to help Hill and Will pack up for their move to Texas.  This is their 4th major move since they have been married.  Denver,  CO, Derby,  Kansas, Steamboat Springs,   

CO and now Midland,  Texas.  They are good sports about it, but hopefully they can be settled for a couple of years and establish some roots in Texas.  

I am going to miss my Hill and wish she moved closer to home, not farther away.  She is resilient and will do just fine in Texas.  We will visit her after Christmas and see what Texas is like.  We have seen country that we wouldn't otherwise see because of her moves.  

We drove back to Rexburg to celebrate Dave's 8th birthday.  

This handsome boy was baptized and was supported by lots of family and friends.  Hard to believe it was 8 years ago that he joined the family.  I can't imagine life without him in it.  We love this little man! 

Meagan had a lunch after the baptism and fed all of us.  Delicious!

It was fantastic seeing our girls and spending time with them, but now,  I have to get back to reality.  It is always a self indulgent time when we go away.  We sleep in, eat whatever, read, shop, sun, and relax.  Christmas is around the corner, and I have to start thinking about that.  It is hard to come home, but nice to sleep in our own bed, eat differently, and reconnect with family and friends in Calgary.  The hardest part about coming home, is adjusting to the snow.  It ifs freezing here!  I am looking forward to our spring trip already.  

HARPO

Guess who we saw last night?  Yes, it was Harpo the Clown!  We see him every year at this time somewhere in the desert.  Last year it was at a rest stop and he honked his little toy horn at us as we ate our lunch.  It makes me smile and wonder "what is up with that guy in the clown costume?"

BRING ON THE NAVY!

Since we have finished the kitchen reno, I have been repainting the rest of the house and changing things so they match the colours of the kitchen.  I am loving my new grey walls and white trim, with accents of navy blue,  rather than my old mossy walls and cream trim that I had throughout the house.  It feels clean and fresh and is a nice change.  It is expensive to redo everything and change out things just because they "don't match", but those that know me, know I am a scavenger and love to "thrift", so it hasn't been too much really.  These are a few of my cheap finds from the thrift stores.  

I am strictly keeping to my grey, blue and silver theme.  I have found pretty jars and pots for my makeup in white and blue.  

 More silver and navy.

 Found these fab plates and put them on the kitchen wall.

 I repainted the guest room and found this tranquil picture that evokes the feeling of rest and peace.  I want my guests to have a good sleep and come back often.

 I found this grey and blue bedding too.   Didn't photograph well, but it looks great all together.

 I found a navy duvet cover, bedskirt and shams for my room.  It was a bargain at $25.00 - for kingsize! The throw pillows are sumptuous velvet in navy pinstrips and royal blue.

 How lucky was this?  What are the chances?  Anthropology too

 I am a sucker for ceramic pottery and found these gorgeous pieces for next to nothing.

These were my best finds yet!  Nearly new Natuzzi leather sofa and chair for $250.00!  I was so excited to find these.  They were the inspiration for all the blue.  You just never know what you will find on any given  day.  

KITCHEN REVEAL

TAH DAH!  Here it is!  My long awaited reno is complete.  I moved into this house when Hillary was 3.  She is now 22 and I only now have the kitchen that I wished I had when I still had the family at home.  We started this project April 1.  We cooked in our garage and cleaned dishes in the bathroom sink for 3 months!   It was  a long time to be displaced from the main room of the house - it was cold, inconvenient, messy, dusty and at times too much.  We are glad that we are done and we are enjoying the extra light, space and the modern conveniences we put in.  A garbarator, stacking ovens and a five foot fridge are a few of the things that we love.  

 I love my 10 foot window overlooking the park.  

 Stacking ovens, and a wall of cabinets

 Two tones of quartz for the island

 5' fridge!  Need I say more?

 15' island.  We have seating for 9 people.  

We will finish the rest of the house renovation next year.  It will include hardwood floors, new living room window,  lighting, fireplace, bathroom, laundry room and closets.  We wish we could have finished it all at once, but after waiting 18 years for the kitchen renovation, another year won't seem that long.  

THIS IS RIDICULOUS

I reorganized my front closet today.  It is mine exclusively - although I do share it with company if they need to have a coat hung up.  It is usually a hodge podge with coats, shoes, mitts and purses mixed in.  I put all my coats in color order and it was surprising that I have a theme going on.  Mid length,  turquoise or black.  I have a couple of red or burgandy too.  But to have 12 black coats!  Maybe that is too much!  What does that say about me?  Obsessive comes to mind.  I do think that you need a coat for every occasion and we do have all types of weather, but I have gone overboard.  I do love my greeny/blue coats though and will never part with those!  And I only have 5.

 Planning of the big kitchen reveal this week.  It is more impressive than my closet.

THE CLEANUP

With our kitchen completed, everything else in the house looks shabby.  I knew that would happen.  The kitchen is bright and clean - the rest of the house dark and drab.  I have been motivated to bring the rest of the house up to standard.  There is no budget to remodel the rest of the house, so I have been repainting and throwing out junk.  I repainted the laundry room, bathroom and have moved into the basement to paint there.
The electricians had to have access to the electrical panel and I had to move my food storage around.  We have been in the house 19 years and I have never even used any of  the billion pounds of sugar, salt, honey, beans that I moved into the house.  I haven't used any of the pails of food storage I have, preferring to always buy fresh.  I have thrown out quiet a bit of food storage because after more than 10 years, who wants to eat those beans anyways?  I painted the storage room floor to freshen it up before I move all the stuff back in.  It is always a nice feeling to see new paint.
I will keep working on every room until I have cleaned up each one.  This week's projects are repainting Carl's room, and painting another bathroom.  The garage is also going to get a bit of a facelift.
It is funny what you hang on to for years.  I have thrown out all the dried up felt pens, broken pencil crayons, colored construction paper, used coloring books.  Brett is ruthless and says get rid of it all.  I will keep the lego, wooden blocks and a few other things, but the rest is going.  It feels great to clean up!