Do you get 5 a day?

At the dinner table one night last week my family was discussing "people that don't even know what vegetables are" as my 9 year old phrased it. She told me about kids asking about the various vegetables in her lunch, in her sushi, as her "snack" in school. Then we talked about kids on a TV show we saw (It was either Nanny 911, or Wife Swap...something of that nature) and the kids had actually never SEEN some of the basic vegetables my family eats every single day. It was funny to me at first but then I realized it was sad. I wanted to go saute some kale for them or show them how good chard can be, or maybe just start with a basic power salad with raw spinach and strawberries.

I realized that there is another way for people who are not INTO eating them straight up, cooked or raw. So, you can drink your 5 a day! One shake/smoothie, or spread it out over the day if you want. Here is one of my favorites that I have dubbed the G-Bop. That's right. You can order a G-bop in my kitchen. (This is greens with banana, orange and pineapple). It's actually pretty wonderful.


Don't be nervous to try something new...you might be surprised at how much you like getting the added health benefits of getting in your daily quota of fresh fruits and vegetables...without eating the vegetable. More energy, and staying full longer are the first things I personally noticed with the G-Bop. Secondly, I was uh...more - regular. predictable if you will. And, no feeling bloaty or crampy as I would with a dairy smoothie/shake. This is a major win for me!

Kaptain!!!

I can't with this list.

Every year the Social Security Administration releases a baby name list. A site called Nameberry took a look at that list and pulled out the wackiest names. And, then I take the time to find you MY favorites because this is my space. nyah. As I put this out onto the inter-webs I must add that my children are: Kaya, Andrew, Benjamin and Emmaline and I have been criticized for mainly 2 of those names multiple times. I'll let you guess which two. I still adore both names for life! :D

From 2013, my favorites: (as in to laugh at and pray for them when their resumes start hitting the world) Sigh.

For the boys...
Kaptain. Kyndle. Kaptiain Subaru!
And for the little girls...
Vanellope or...
Charlemagne Pistol.
Kinzington Prezlee!

And, yes, people actually have now named their babies hashtag. I kid you not. 

FOR THE WHOLE LIST:

She is growing up. Oh my.

Tomorrow evening Kaya is going to her first ever dance. It's the daddy/daughter dance at school. I've heard a few of you talk about this and now I get to experience it. Well, kind of.

Last week we had a shopping date and sushi dinner. I got her her dress that night.

Last night I took aside two hours and flat ironed all of her hair which takes just about 2 hours if she's already washed/dried.

Today I took her out for shoes. I thought that would be easy peasy. Ha! First stop was Nine West where she fell in love with a pair of jade colored ballet flats but the WOMENS sie 6 was too small and 7 was too big, they did not offer half sizes. We went to 3 other shoe stores before just stumbling into Payless of all places where she decided "these are the ones". Partly out of hunger and fatigue and partly because they are close to matching the dress color. I really didn't want to take the flip flop route but OH WELL.

Then, one more store for nail/toe polish, a sparkly new headband and a pair of earrings. And, my entry would not be complete without pictures of what we bought. And tomorrow I will of course post pic of them all dressed and ready.

Homemade Laundry Detergent: DIY

I just love sharing my successes and failures in the Do it Yourself category. This is definitely a success! I have made this over and over again with the same excellent outcome!

See my recipe and some results! ....

love love love this outift.

Right Now: January 1, 2014

I wanted to try something new for the new year, and inspiration struck in the form of a "Right Now" collage to show you all what I am digging this week. This one focuses on things I use weekly lately. daily even.

Finding the perfect pair of boots is quite difficult. I'm on the tall side, and the plus side of things. My calves fall in between regular and wide calf so comfort and finding where those two sizes meet is key. 

Next, a pair of jeans you can dress up or dress down and run around in can take a bunch of tries. I am not always impressed with Old Navy to be honest with you but this time they nailed it )for my body type needs anyway)! 

I like to stick to somewhat simple jewelry that are both colorful and timeless. My body let me know as a young girl that I could not wear just any metal though, so finding the right pieces has proved difficult for me in the past. I can't wear sterling silver, I can't wear anything gold or silver plated. My body tolerates only surgical steel, white gold and platinum. Talk about expensive taste! My sister found the perfect solution for me: wood bangles. No metal to react to.

Bags. Oh bags. I am a bag lady, it's true. I have a LOT of bags. More than I should, more than any woman needs I think. But, I do love them all. I like vegan bags. I like colorful bags, I like big bags that can haul a lot and still hold their shape. This bag happens to fit all of those needs. bonus, it matches my new infinity scarf too!

ONE:  These are the "katy" boots by Gabriella Rocha. They come in black and gray and I have both. Check Zappos and/or 6pm for her styles. vegan. 

TWO: ZAD is a jewelry line I adore. It's fancy, but simple enough and it's affordable. This is the "bead bib". featured on Zulily.com amongst other sites.

THREE:  Tano bags are wonderful, seriously I have no complaints about them. Durable, colorful, super well thought out design, and vegan. That's right. No cow died for this bag. The one in the picture is a boogie bucket. It's my current purse. This shade of green I believe they call 'being uma'. Tano

FOUR:  As mentioned above, I have a love hate relationship with Old Navy. I remember back when you could try on plus sizes in stores, and I remember when they finally learned to STOP putting their logo on everything they made. It made the clothing much more attractive and I finally began shopping there in the late 90s. They were ahead of the game with "jeggings" but I prefer their skinny jeans, with more denim than stretch thank you. Meet, The Rockstar bu Old Navy. Available in many sizes and a ton of washes and colors. ta da!!

FIVE:  Wooden bangles may be too informal for some ladies, maybe too bohemian but I have to say, once you go wood....it's all good. Not all jewelry donates some of or all of their profit but these guys do.

Xo,

Beth