Sedums - "Hens and Chicks"

My grandma has a bountiful assortment of sedums that do great out by the lake, in the more rocky parts of her flower beds. I begged her for a few to take home (inspired by my want to start a terrarium), and because they multiply so quickly, she practically begged ME to take them. She wasn't sure about how they would do in the house, as opposed to outside, but advised me to dig some out and we placed them in that ever-so fashionable, cool whip container (as seen below). By the looks of it, you already know that I'm on the hunt for a different fix that is more stylish, as well as, roomier for the little guys, although I believe they like to be crowded. Regardless, I will let you know how that goes...Side note: notice the cilantro seeds - looks like someone, cough, Jon, cough, thought it would be a good idea to sneak a few in my new, little pot (that should be interesting). Additional side note: Could my habitual process of gathering house vegetation be genetic? If so, I think I'm becoming my mother.

Happy Easter!!

Sorry, a little late - I know. This past weekend was pretty crazy. Saturday, we had Breck's first birthday party (Jon's nephew, what a cutie), followed by an evening Easter gathering. Sunday consisted of 8am church (yippeeeee), the traditional lunch at my G'ma and G'pa Durken's, by the lake, and another Easter dinner at the Barrick's campground. Plenty of the 4 Fs - fun, family, FOOD and, of course that FAT feeling (it took a day or two for my bloated feeling to subside). TMI?! Don't lie, you KNOW you were in that same boat! Here are some pictures from the lovely holiday weekend.

Happy Earth Day!

Now, if only I resided along these coordinates of the Earth...
Ahh, well, a girl can dream - Minny will have to do, for now.

Can you tell I have been dreaming about Hawaii since I've left?

Location: Wailea Beach, HI 

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Yayyyyy. :)

So this...

is what heaven looks like.

Location: Above the Pacific

I ♥ the Como Zoo.

Jon and I were bored one Sunday, so we moseyed on over to the zoo and took in all the sights - the conservatory, of course, the animals and the crazy kids (sometimes I feel like they are more of an exhibit than anything else). The best part was, it's FREE will donation - so about $2 - can't get any better than that! Makes me think back to the old days...

Makeover: Jello Shots

This fabulous blog replaces the vintage dixie cups with some DIY sophistication and class. They are all so pretty, here are some of my favorites.

Root Beer Barrel

Blow Pop Martini

Blackberry Cosmo

Espresso Martini

Rainbow

Pink Squirrel, Grasshopper & Lemon Chiffon

What to say...

When you have nothing else to say.

Have you ever found yourself - fingers to keyboard, and a blinking cursor dancing around in the empty status update text box, just mocking you? A day when you just cannot, for the life of you, think of a single damn thing on your mind that may appeal to your ever-so interested facebook flock? We all know it's uber fun to get all of those likes. If you find yourself having a bad case of the locked lips, or fingers, for that matter, check out this website. Now, I can't guarantee your online popularity will rise dramatically or your friend requests will increase by 30%, but hey, it's entertaining nonetheless. Happy status generating!
Photo.

Officially...

A platinum blonde!
Randomly, the other day, I had this unexplainable urge to dye my hair, white - KIDDING. This idea has been bouncing around in my head for the past couple of years now - I am a very thorough person when it comes to the decisions I make, involving body modification (too bad that's not the case for all of my decisions, hmm). These concepts are usually in the works years before they actually happen and I am always (99.9% of the time) happy with the results.
My dear friend, Megan, is a student at the Aveda Institute in northeast Minneapolis.

Her and her friend, Shayna, worked their magic. As you can see from the picture, my hair is super long, even after 3 inches was taken off. So, I wasn't suprised when, at one point, I had 3 ladies rubbing toner into my hair (there is a first for everything, I suppose). The whole double process of going this light is not glamorous, by any means, but it was definitely worth the hours of sitting in a chair. I do, in the near future, plan to do another round and lighten to a white/silvery gray tone - kind of like Gaga, if you're familiar - That is the goal. There is quite a bit of maintenance required when you're bright blonde - here are a few of my favorite Aveda/Non-Aveda products that are now a mandatory part of the hair arsenal, if I want to keep my hair healthy and happy.

1] Aveda Damage Remedy, Daily Hair Repair - $24 - I use this after I shower, when my hair is damp. Made from plant-derived proteins (quinoa), it detangles and protects from heat and styling.

2 & 3] Blue Malva Shampoo & Conditioner - $24 (1 liter) & $18 (8.5 fl oz) respectively - Literally blue in color, this duo works together to counteract the natural, brassy tones that show over time. Think back to your middle school art class - blue is opposite from yellow on the color wheel - snazzy. I was advised not to leave it on too long, because my freshly dyed locks would easily turn blue. Yum. These two are also wonderful detanglers and make your hair shiny and silky smooth.

4] Moroccan Oil - $20 - Like the natural oils in your hair, this concoction makes dry hair healthy, smooth and shiny. As you can see, between the products and root touch ups, this style can get pretty spendy, but most of these products are investments that can last quite awhile. If you are thinking about going platinum and you're darker than a dark blonde, light brown - I probably wouldn't recommend it, just because the darker your hair is, the more damaging it will be.

I am disgusted.

A proposed bill to ban photos and videos on farms without the farmer's permission. Watch this video - the thought pretty much sickens me, to say the least. Especially when those in favor of this bill claim that a lot of the undercover animal abuse is staged and they, in fact, want to pass this bill in order to protect the animals. When, IN FACT, they are merely just looking to protect their own asses. My dad is a beef farmer, although not currently, I'm obviously not 100% on that bandwagon. However, our animals were always treated like gold, they even had pet names (eerily odd, if you ask me, but it is what it is). If you do eat meat, don't you want to know where it's coming from? I am not shaking my finger at any carnivores here, but don't be naive.

This video changed my lifestyle for the better - philosophy and diet. You can even request a free copy in the mail - just email FreeDVD@peta.org - It has been about 3 years since I decided to consume no meat, with the exception of fish. I don't miss other meats at all, and hardly even eat fish anymore. Before you order that cheap, greasy, yummy, burger, do animalkind a favor and realize that we are the reason that animal is dead. Do the math: how many restaurants are within a 5 mile radius from your home, how about the meat section in your local grocery store, multiply that by towns, cities, states, countries, world. Disgusted. Now, with this many factory farms in service to feed our faces, why in the hell would they not want to monitor what's going on...funny how big brother works. Hmm. Beats me.

Sapling Press:

The Eating Utensil Love Affair
These cards are simple and adorable.
This one, in particular, is one of my favorites...
And for good reason, FREAKIN' hilarious!
Check out more Sapling Press cards on Etsy.

Recipe: Heaven on Earth.

At only 200 calories!
Let's cut the bullshit. Never have counted calories, never will. But this dessert is probably close. There's a reason why it's called ANGEL food cake people - there is nothing to it. I was craving sweets one night (go figure) and practically threw it together. Easy, and healthy-er? You can't beat it.

Here's the deal:

1 - box of angel food cake mix

5 - large strawberries

1 - banana

(any other favorites fruits, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)

1/2 - carton of heavy whipping cream

2 - Dove chocolates

1] Make angel food cake according to package instructions.

2] Chop/slice bananas and strawberries to desired size/amount.

3] With an electric mixer (preferably), mix whipping cream on high until fluffy.

4] Layer cake with cream and fruit - top with dove chocolate shavings!

5] Enjoy!

With each embroidered stitch...

The Rest is history.
As the prequel to my Goodies from Home post, I simply must share another lovely gift I was given. My grandma is going through a dispersing phase, as one may call it. She knows she is not getting any younger and I feel like every time we visit, she digs up something new from the loot that she has collected over her 83 wonderful years. Well, you know how that goes, grandmas are grandmas and they keep EVERYTHING. Pack rat. Accumulator. Saver. Gatherer - what have you. Although it could be seen as clutter, I see it as amazing antiquity full of thousands of stories and memories just waiting to be shared..as confirmed by my last visit home. My grandma, with a thought in her mind and a stack of hand-embroidered towels in her hand, sat down at the table, next to me. I noticed a very old ribbon in her other hand and knew these towels were unlike the many that I had seen before. Still crisp white from being immaculately stored in the hope chest, she said to me, "I was done with school when I was 12, I was so bored that I would read anything (including farm magazines) I could get my hands on."

My grandma, like many when she was young, was out of school early and helped on the farm. She said she entered these towels in the county fair and has the ribbon to prove it. "My sister told me that these towels were to be made from good flour sacks, so if I was going to sew on them, the stitches had to be nice and tight, see how tight those stitches are?"

After all these years, I could still see the beaming pride on her face. She turns to me and says, "Take one, I have no use for them anymore." With a large smile on my face, I gladly accepted her offer. As I think to myself, "This means more than you will ever know." Little did she know, as a self-teaching, 12 year old - those annoyingly tight stitches will keep her memory in our hearts for years, and years, to come.