20 Products I Can't Live Without

20 products I can't live without list (impromptu party from Susan at Between Naps on the Porch). Great idea!

From start of the day to the end of the day, I must have the following:

Intuition Plus Schick Renewing Moisture Razor, seriously the best smoothest shave ever.  I was always nicking my ankles, shin bone, on and on. Then found these. Love them.




Short and Sexy Hard Up gel product
Must have this to add height and fun to my hair.  Starts my day with bounce!

Alcon Naphcon A Eye Drops
I hold my stress in my eye, and also wear my contact lens for too long, then rub my eyes (I know, I know.  Bad.)  But when my eyes get red, this is my go-to over the counter, better than perscription product.

Kajal Kohl Liner Pencil
Walgreens price, stays all day, easy to apply, no smudging.

Angel Parfume
My signature scent, the only scent that stays on me all day, and makes people say, "What are you wearing?"  Love it.  The lotion is also wonderful and light.













Umcka Cold Car Chewable Tablets
If I wake-up and feel like I have a cold coming on, it's Umcka to the rescue.  Shortens duration & reduces severity. Just start taking it, and your cold is knocked out cold.  Amazing.  Nature's Way. I buy at Sprouts Grocery Store.  I used it one day this week, and it knocked out something that could have been bad.

iPhone - the most reliable computer, phone, calculator, all in one wonder.  I use it all day long for everything I do, from checking my email first thing in the morning, to listening to a book when I go to bed.  It has it ALL.

Covergirl Wetsticks AmazeMint Lipgloss $5.99 at Walgreens

Smells great, light cover.  Have them in every purse and drawer in my desk.  Quick pick me up.

Touch of Purple
Natural cleaner and polish
Found this at a swap meet, and now can't live without it!  I use it to clean/POLISH my eyeglasses, sunglasses, diamond ring, silverware, bronze, copper, computer screen and iPhone screen. Amazing.

Easy Spirit Traveltime Clogs
Like a tennis shoe, but also a clog. Can wear these all day, looks business casual, contemporary, and can be slipped off under my desk!  If my dog doesn't stop chewing them, I would have them forever.

If it is summer, must have Maui Babe.  I discovered this suntan oil and lotion while living on Maui, and now buy it for myself, and my very best friends. It smells like heaven on earth (like Hawaii), and delivers the most beautiful tan ever.  I don't tan easily, but when I want a little color (I know it is bad for me), this is the product that delivers.

S. Pellegrino

Sparkling water that adds sparkle to any fruit juices.  Great mid-day, after work, or with dinner.

Pour over ice into a beautiful goblet, your day is transformed with elegance.

Making soup for dinner, must have Cuisinart Smart Stick.  Quick, simple, and always delivers.  I keep mine behind my coffee maker, plugged in next to the stove, so I can pull it out and finish the soup, etc.  I don't have these cool colors, but how fun are they?!

Straws for drinking in bed.  I know that sounds silly, but I love a cool glass of water next to my bed, and love these fun straws for any party.

Floralies Honey Almond Bubble Bath
My son bought me this for Christmas, and it smells delicious, produces just the right amount of bubbles, and is the perfect end to the day!  Can't find it online, so will ask my son where he found it!

This was fun!  Thanks for hosting another fun party!

Hmm Blog

"Do you blog?"  I recall someone asking me that five years ago, and I wasn't sure what they meant. Since then I have spent countless hours, and whole days searching, reading and commenting on blogs. Blog, blog, blog, and blog.  It is addictive, and questionably productive. I've learned a lot, met (cyber-met) inspiring people, and connected with family and friends in an interactive, and visual way, so that's good, right? 

I'm left wondering, or hmmming about the difference between a blog and a website. My theories are purely speculative, and based on observation, but I'm pretty sure they are correct.  Most blogs seem to start out journalistic, a way to chronicle something that you are doing, like decorating, cooking, taking pictures of your family, or remodeling an old house.  Then someone comments on your musings, and you're hooked.  What, someone read what I posted?!  That feeling of connection addicts you to the blogging, making you yearn for more connections.  Then your list of followers and comments starts to increase.  Do you have over 100 followers, 500, 1000, 10,000?  The urge for more and more overtakes you. You visit blogs, leaving comments that implore them to "comment back,"  "visit me." 

Then, I've noticed the ads start appearing as the blog is "monetized."  Connections for "Twitter," and "Facebook" appear.  Links to a website selling Etsy items, or other. 

Making a living in this 21st Century world requires innovation, creativity, discipline and dedication, so I applaud anyone making a living, cyber or otherwise.  Here's what I wish for in blogland: some kind of rating system (something akin to the "Advertisement" warning on the top of a magazine page, that looks like an article, but it's really not), so I can tell if the blog or website is commercial or reflective, desirous of selling me something (and I'm a happy buyer), or informing me about the blogger(s) passion/hobbly/expertise.  I just want to know.  For the record, I love to read reflections, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Henry Ford said, "Those who never make mistakes, work for those of us that do."  Mistakes are opportunities for growth.  Let's brag about our mistakes, as well as our hits-outta-the park. 

In any case, thanks to the bloggers that have kept me entertained, inspired, and teached me up!  Blog on!

Palm Springs Respite

Have you ever taken a weekend away from your real life to hang out with your girlfriends in a fantastic home?  This last weekend found me in Palm Springs with a "posse" of great women at the home of a generous friend.  She waited on us throughout the weekend, even serving us a homemade BBQ Surf & Turf, steak, shrimp and lobsters.  Ohh-La-La! House on the golf course with view of the desert mountains.

Let's walk in the entry together...

 Fountain out the sliding doors, herons I believe.

 One of the most fun parts of the weekend was living in a home fabulously decorated in a style totally different from my home, modern, sleek, minimalistic, and ohh-la-la (notice the theme?)  White and gray walls, white leather sofas with pops of red pillows and modern art. 

Do you notice that the ceiling is a darker color than the white walls but not as dark as the gray wall?  So what the interior designer says is that you cut the darker paint by 50% to paint the ceiling - and it works perfectly!  Ohh-la-la.

 Pool table felted in gray. Is the fixture over the table the most ohh-la-la?

 Fireplace filled with glass chards with lights underneath.  I missed taking pictures at night - bummer!  The lamps and fixtures were simply ohh-la-la.

 

Love the fabric of this chair.

Bar floating in the middle of the two living spaces. 

 Seashell close-up of bar art.

Two peas in a pod in chrome centerpiece. Wow.

Kitchen also floated in the middle of the house, not huge, but beautifully adorned with every modern appliance and stone counters.

Love the river rock back sprash and faucet to fill the pasta pot.  Love how the bananas pop off the counter with color, almost like art.


 Modern Art.

 Wall art.

Bedroom in grays and white, with black and white photographs of old time stars floating on the wall above the bed.

Master bedroom and bath all open to the golf course, water, and Palm Spring Mountains.  

 It's hard to see but this mirror is elevated on dark gray pots filled with black pebbles.  Fabulous idea.

 That's a putting green off the bath, just cuz.

 And a fountain off the bedroom where I slept.  Out to the pool and spa.  Wish I took pictures of the ladies around the edges with fountains coming out their mouths, spraying into the pools. Lovely. 

 It is good to get away and live the life of someone else, play with your posse, and then return to the home and family that you also love.  Ohh-la-la.  If someone asked me to design a fragrance, it would be called "Ohh-la-la" and somehow it would smell like this weekend.  Thank you friends.  I'm lucky to have you in my life.  XOOOXX
~CJ

Certified Wildlife Habitat Backyard

Did you know you can get your back yard certified as a Wildlife Habitat?  What a great excuse reason for it to look a little wild at times.

We certified our backyard three years ago and proudly feature the sign amid flowers and critters. Not only is it a great excuse for sections of your yard that look a little wild, it really is gratifying to see the butterflies, birds, squirrels (not really....we do not appreciate these rats with tails that hijack our vegetables and fruits, but I digress) and seasonal flowers and fauna.


Certification is an easy process.  Give it a try.  Great project for kids.
 
See information on the May is Garden for Wildlife Month 

Celebrate Garden for Wildlife Month in May

May is Garden for Wildlife Month! That means it's the perfect time to make your yard wildlife friendly. Whether you're a gardening novice or a seasoned veteran...whether you have a small balcony or a few acres...it's easy to attract and provide for local wildlife when you create a Certified Wildlife Habitat™ site. A Certified Wildlife Habitat is a place that welcomes birds, butterflies and other local wildlife. All you need to do is provide the four elements animals need most: food, water, shelter and places to raise young.

From my wild life to yours!

The kiss of the sun for pardon.

The song of the birds for peace.

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.

~Abraham Lincoln 

 

The Praying Mantis by Ogden Nash

From whence arrived the praying mantis?
From outer space, or lost Atlantis?
glimpse the grin, green metal mug
at masks the pseudo-saintly bug,
Orthopterous, also carnivorous,
And faintly whisper, Lord deliver us.

Water is the driving force of all nature.

~Leonardo da Vinci

  

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.  

~Matthew 3:16

Like the hummingbird sipping nectar from every flower, I fly joyfully through my days, seeing beauty in everything.

~Amethyst Wyldfyre

The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others.

~Saint John Christostom

 You can't be friends with a squirrel.  A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.
~Sarah Jessica Parker

Our fear of death is like our fear that summer will be short, but when we have had our swing of pleasure, our fill of fruit and our swelter of heat, we say we have had our day.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Purple bearded iris, meaning faith, hope, wisdom, courage, and admiration. Sweet love in the garden.

 Fourth of July, red with white stripes, climbing rose given to me as a Mother's Day gift five years ago.

Bewitched, deep pink, perfect buds, planted ten years ago.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.
~Lorenz Hart

 Henry Fonda, warm yellow, planted eight years ago.

How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said.
~Victory Hugo