Flowers---I haz dem?

Happy Fat Tuesday!!! 

For the past few days, I’ve been had spring flowers on my brain. I’ve always been a rose lover, but have never undertaken growing my own until recently.  

The rose above is the first one I planted in my yard 2 years ago. I forget the name of it though!!  Isn’t it beautiful?  This plant had continuous blooms for the entire summer and most of the fall as well.  At one point, DH counted 12 roses blooming on that bush.  I rarely even cut them because they were so pretty!  I thought I had some kind of magic touch when it came to roses because that one grow so easily and abundantly.  LOL—was I wrong!

Last year, I got my hands on the last Blue Moon rose bush at Walmart.  I had looked around several places for a few weeks but this was the only one I found.  I planted it and didn’t have the same luck with my roses as last year.   Last year’s spring and summer were incredibly wet and humid and my roses developed black spot. (You can see some if on the leaves of the yellow rose pic) Now the Blue Moon above did grow but not nearly as big and full as my yellow bush the first year.  I was disappointed but also started to educate myself on how to care for my roses.  I stopped at my fave local greenhouse, Chapon’s Greenhouse. They not only do organic gardening but have a very knowledgeable stuff that was willing to answer questions for a clueless newb like myself.  They even have 2 adorable, friendly kittehs that live there—Ashes and Lily, pictured below from their site.

Chapon’s recommended a spray for the black spot, which did help. But I was still cutting diseased leaves all summer.  I’m hoping that this year I can get ahead and do some pruning this evening if it isn’t raining.   I also plan to do some fertilizing come early spring time to help encourage as much new growth as possible.   And with spring comes new flowers and and ideas!

I FINALLY got DH to give in on his clematis plant.  He had grown it for 3 years on our metal arbor and every year it would die.  I talked to one of the guys at Chapon’s, who confirmed for me that the metal arbor was too hot.  The plant was probably being scorched.  I had been nagging him for the past 2 years to admit defeat and let me plant some climbing roses so I was so happy to run home and deliver the verdict from an expert!  The pic above is called Eden Climber or Pierre de Ronsard.  Just look at those beautiful blooms!   It’s considered to be an old fashioned English rose and it blooms perpetually all summer.  Within a year it can grow to cover your arbor, which is what I am hoping for!  And the color runs from deeper pink to light pale pink.  Just so pretty. 

I’ve also built up a pretty healthy wishlist for roses even though my small yard couldn’t accommodate them all.  The pic above is the Anne Boleyn Rose. (All pics after the kittehs have been taken from my Pinterest page and you can find direct links there).  It’s a David Austin Rose, a specialty English rose breeder.  The thing I like about this is the name (I’m a huge Tudor history buff) and that it can be grown in a large container.  I would like to order this one and put on my deck for the summer.

The next one is so pretty.  It’s a Joseph’s Coat climbing rose.  The variations of color would make a great contrast to climb up the other side our arbor.

Now isn’t this one gorgeous?  It’s a Marilyn Monroe Hybrid Tea rose.  Most of the roses you buy in a florist shop are Hybrid Teas.  We think of these as traditional roses, but they are far from it.  The MM rose is a beautiful apricot shade and very tolerant to heat.  Also considered disease resistant, which I am starting to appreciate after dealing with black spot for the first time!

This one is just so striking---the Kleopatra rose.  I have no idea where I would plant this one but I would find somewhere for it if I had to!

Here are some of my fave images from my Pinterest of some gardens (click on pics as they are linked to original sources):

 

I just love that romantic cottage look that climbing roses can give to a home.  Now if I can just find a climbing rose that likes some shade!  Then I will have something to plant to grow around the ugly metal things that hold up our porch roof!

Would love to hear any rose tips, tricks or advice if you have any!  I’m in Zone 6b and most of the roses I have been researching are able to be grown there.  

Do you have any favorite roses or rose memories?  My fave memory is when DH used to buy me roses when we were first married.  (We’re an ‘old’ married couple now, so flowers are few and far between).   Our kitteh Duncan would always steal one of the roses from the vase.  And he would just lie down with it, never eating it.  I have caught him sneaking up to vases several times over the years!!!   Maybe he just likes the smell! 

I will keep you updated on my flowers for this year too!  My lilac bush is already budding thanks to our warm winter!!!

Some Faves for Friday….

 

Happy Friday!!!! 

For some reason, this week has gone both fast and slow for me.  Some days flew by and others (like today) are dragging on.   So I’ll give you some of my latest faves!

Momma Dietz Chicken Parmigiana  I stopped at Giant Eagle last night after work to pick up some lunch meat and came home with this delicious-ness.  If you’re trying to eat healthy, you’ll hear people tell you to stay away from lunch meats because of high sodium etc.  Normally I would agree.  However, this chicken is gluten and nitrate free.   Also low fat.  One serving of this (2 oz) is just 2 Points + for WW!  I was actually looking to get my usual, Cajun Turkey breast, but the deli servers asked me if I wanted to try this chicken as it was new.  They said it was exclusive to Giant Eagle, but as it’s on the D&W site, I’m not so sure.  But I can tell you that it’s tasty!!  I had it today on my sandwich for lunch and I loved every last bite!

 

 

The hunt for navy boots is over!!!!  I would say navy boots have always been my ‘white whale’ of sorts.  It’s hard enough to find navy shoes that don’t look like grandma shoes.  Finding navy boots is virtually impossible.  So imagine my shock when I saw these Paris Hilton boots on Macy’s website a few weeks ago.  I was perusing their shoe sale (had a giftcard that was burning my wallet) and saw these cuties on their site.  I had to click and confirm they were indeed navy.  Swoon!!! I wanted to order, then I saw $8 shipping and balked.  I’m sorry but $8 Macy’s?? Zappos and Amazon will ship for free!  So I copied the style name (Allison) and did a search online for them.  I am guessing that this navy shade was an exclusive to Macy’s because not even Paris Hilton’s own shopping site had that color.  Just black and gray.  So I started the sale stalking to see if they would drop or I could get a free ship code.  The following week I went out to dinner with SJ and we decided to stop at Macy’s to check out the clearance.  She got a few things and I hit the shoes.  I started talking to one of the shoe guys and asked him about the boots.  He said they didn’t carry them there but he could order them from the store for me and ship FOR FREE!  And they will match any online price if you print it out or show them on your phone, like I did.  I knew SJ had a 20% coupon I could have but she went in search of a ladies room.  I called her and she answered “What?! I am peeing!” LOL.  After SJ’s coupon and my giftcard I saved quite a bundle on these.  They fit perfectly and are a true navy in person. But they are very high (even for me) so I am going to get some cushions for the balls of my feet.  After wearing them to work, I received several compliments.  I’ve never been a Paris fan, but these shoes may help to change that! 

 

 

Sometimes it is hard to come up with new ideas for healthy food, especially when you don’t cook very often and you are the only one who eats most of it.  DH is lucky and can eat pretty much anything and stay thin.  That’s why I love magazines and blogs for giving me ideas.  One of my fave blogs lately is Hungry Meets Healthy.  Her blog tells it like it is and she’s adorable. She’s also realistic about healthy eating (we do need our treats) and she loves cookies more than me!  I had been wanting to cook with butternut squash for a while but hadn’t found a recipe that really appealed to me.  Until I saw her post on Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Quinoa. The pic above is hers as well (I forgot to take a pic of mine!).  So you may look at this and think it doesn’t look super appetizing, but it was so FREAKING good.  You season the quinoa with some cinnamon and it really enhances the flavor of everything.  Plus, who could hate a recipe with blue cheese anything in it?  It was so easy to prepare—the hardest part was cutting up the squash.  DH took one look at this and refused to even try it but I happily ate it that night and took it for lunch the next few days.   Thank you Christina for the great recipe!!!  

 

 

Sometimes you don’t realize how much you love a product until you don’t have it.  That’s how I figured out I really love my Aveeno Postively Ageless eye cream.  You use such a teeny amount so it lasts a long time.  I am lucky to not have many wrinkles but I do have some starting to try and work their way out.  I ran out of this last week and was using a backup Garnier cream until I could hit Walmart to pick this up.  WOW—I could tell a difference right away.  This cream has a gel-like consistency and really makes you look awake.  I used to feel like my eye area was really dry (despite having VERY oily skin) but this stuff works its magic.  I use it both morning and evening.  I don’t find it expensive at $17 (some of the creams I have used in the past were $50 and up) but DH asked why it was so much.  Men just have no idea!!!

 

I’ll keep it short!   Hope you guys have a great weekend!

The Story of Salsa Judy…..

So I have been getting a few requests for me to tell the story of how Salsa Judy got her name.   Now, if SJ herself knew I was telling this, she would be mad I am spreading the SJ legend because she doesn’t think the SJ name is as hilarious as the rest of us do.  And I know if I posted her pic, she would KILL me.  So just be content with the story.  

First off, some background.  SJ is not Mexican or of any Hispanic background at all.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would say.  She could care less if anyone thought she was or wasn’t.   Just wanted to make that part clear so I don’t get accused of being anti-anything. 

Anyway—back to the story.   The story starts when my brother was in college and living at home.  I had just moved back to the area and was staying with SJ while DH sold our house in MN and could move as well.   One lovely summer day, my brother’s not-so-sane friend, Skulls (a nickname she gave herself if that explains anything!) came to pick up Michael for work.   SJ was out in our driveway, sweeping up leaves from this annoying tree we had.  She hates to wear shoes, especially in the summertime and will often go barefoot.  As she was working in the yard, she just had shorts and an old tshirt on.   Skulls pulls into the driveway and Michael gets in.  He said the conversation went like this:

 

SKULLS:  Who is that Mexican lady in your driveway?  Does she work for your family?

MICHAEL (shocked): No!  That was my mother!

 

The next day Michael called me to tell me about it.  I thought it was really funny, because in the past people had also assumed that SJ was African-American (she was dark and used to be a sun worshipper) South American, or Italian.  But this was the first time anyone had asked if she was Mexican.  Michael said “Should I tell her?”  I said no because I figured she would be mad.

So the next day SJ and I and her friend met up after WW at Bruegger’s for sandwiches.  I distinctly remember the day because we sat outside.   We were talking and she said to me (with a look on her face) “Guess what Michael’s friend said about me?!”.   I had to think for a moment to remember.  Once I did, I just thought of the first thing I could find to put with her name.  I snickered and said “I heard all about it (dramatic pause) SALSA JUDY!” Her friend and I started laughing. And right at that moment, the guys from our local landscaping place (who were Mexican) came into the parking lot with their truck.  SJ’s friend said “Look Salsa Judy!  There are your sons!”   She laughed.  Ironically, she ended up using that company to help her do a project and told those guys what Skulls had said. They called her ‘Mrs. Salsa Judy’ after that they thought it was so funny.

And for some reason the name stuck.  I call her that all the time and friends and relatives call her that too.  My BFF (who is Mexican) sent her Mexican coffee and a Spanish Peanuts card for Christmas that year.   SJ loves coffee so she loved that!   And SJ was never mad anyone assumed she was Mexican or not.  She always had a stigma about looking different than her siblings when she was little.  They were all blonde and she was dark with brown eyes.  She looked like her maternal grandfather and her siblings used to tease her about it all the time, saying she was the mailman’s kid (he was African-American).  So she was sensitive about it. 

Now she just kinds of tolerates it.  She said a few weeks ago that she wanted to have a girls’ margarita night at her house and I said “Isn’t that kind of ironic that Salsa Judy wants to have a margarita night?”  LOL

If you are reading this and you know SJ, you know how entertaining she is and the funny stuff she does and says.  (I will save the story of her purse catching on fire for another time.) I told SJ and Michael we should start a twitter tag #shitsalsajudysays.  SJ doesn’t quite get Twitter and said “I don’t’ think you two are funny!”  but after posting on Facebook I had agreement!

And as for Skulls—Michael said at least she contributed to society in one way—she named our mother Salsa Judy!

There you have it---may not be as funny if you don’t know SJ, but at least you know why we call her that now!  :)

 

 

Latest Favorites….

 

I seem to post in little bursts here and there.  I guess when I have the time and the whim, I take advantage!  Here are my latest favorites, from pillows to apps.

Home Classics® Memory Foam Cluster Gusseted Standard Pillow.  Can I just say that I am in love with this pillow?  After I slept a night on it, I was dancing around the house singing “I’m in love with a pillow” to that “I’m in love with a stripper” song.  (Yes I know I’m a total dork.)  Seriously though, I sleep like the dead with this pillow.  We already have a memory foam mattress and friends of our recommended memory foam pillows, saying how much they loved them.  I was out with Salsa Judy last weekend and we stopped at Kohls.  She said she needed a new pillow and I told her what I had heard about memory foam.  The cost seems a little high, but they were 50% off and we had our 30% off Kohls coupons.  So that pillow was basically a steal.  I get home later that night and immediately want to try it out.  At first it felt really really weird.  Like hard as a rock.  But once I laid my head down in it and got comfortable, I slept like the dead. It really gives good support to my neck and I’m one of those people who sleeps in all sorts of ways during the night so I need that.  I have slept wonderfully every night since.  Highly recommend!!!

Pandora app for Android.  I know I am way late to the party on this but I haven’t had a smart phone forever and honestly don’t utilized the way I should be.  However, I do have Pandora on my computer and realized that I don’t always want to take my MP3 player with me to the gym and my phone (I use my phone for a stopwatch between sets.).  So I downloaded the app and use it while I’m doing cardio.  My fave channel as of ate has been the Disco Cardio channel.  I am so Salsa Judy’s daughter! She was a disco queen and I still love all the songs.  The best part is the songs are pretty long so you forget how long you are on the treadmill or elliptical.

It’s a Brad, Brad World on Bravo.   I will admit I wasn’t quite sure if I would like this show or not.  I adore Brad—I think his style and POC’s (pops of color) are amazing.   But Bravo already has the Rachel Zoe show so would this be the same?  Oh yeah, I forgot—there are a bazillion Real Housewives show, so totally Bravo would make a similar stylist show.  Anyway, I love Brad and love his InStyle page each month so I was willing to give it a shot.   Love it!  We get to see Brad as he is starting his career on his own (after departing from RZ) and he really is starting from scratch.  He has clothes in his garage!  The thing I love about Brad is his infectious enthusiasm for fashion—he still loves clothes.  I also love his honesty—he isn’t afraid to show his vulnerability and struggles.  We can all relate to that.  I also love his partner Gary (who is the Abbott to Brad’s Costello) and his cute pups.   The other part they illustrate in this show is how hard it actually is to be a stylist.  It’s work, not just all fun all day. You have to pull the clothes, put the looks together, style them etc.  I hope everyone realizes (I know I do when I try to figure out what to wear every day) that Brad’s job isn’t easy!  I will definitely keep watching to see where Brad goes next!

This coat from Target.  I wish I had a link for you but it’s sold out online and I just happened to get it in the store.  For $17.95. Yes!  That’s it !  You know you can’t go to Target and not check out the clearance racks.  I just look to see if there is anything good there.  That’s how I found my great Missoni blouse for $11.  I was still shopping with Salsa Judy (actually needed lightbulbs and kitteh treats amongst other boring things) but we stopped to look at clearance.  Saw this coat above and tried it on. It felt great and SJ gave her approval saying how ‘flattering’ it was. That means she likes it.  I had a giftcard, so basically the coat was free for me!  SJ also got a really cute dark green pea coat for $15.  Woot for deals!!!

Rooney Mara.  Check out her dress at the Golden Globes.  Doesn’t look like much from the front but the back was so beautiful.  She seems to have a great individual style.

If you haven’t seen her in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—go and see it!  I loved her performance in it and hope she is nominated for an Oscar.  Her performance is haunting and empowering.  And it doesn’t hurt that hottie Daniel Craig is in it too!  Looking forward to seeing what she wears to the Oscars if/when she is nominated!

Okay---lunch time is over—back to the grind and please share with me your latest faves! 

Updates N News N Stuff…

How is everyone doing now that we’re 2 weeks into 2012? Are you still writing 2011 on everything?  It only took me a few days and I thought I was doing really well until I almost wrote 2011 on a work document.  Guess I’m not quite there yet!

They say it takes about 21 days for a habit to form.  I truly believe that. I finished Phase 1 of my Jamie Eason Live Fit Trainer and am on Phase 2. I honestly never thought I’d look forward to doing cardio but I really was craving it!  4 weeks with no cardio made me feel huge and bloated.  (I’m sure all of the goodies I had over the holidays had ZERO to do with it LOL).   I know most of it was gaining muscle, but I was thrilled to start Phase 2 and get a bit of cardio in.  The cardio isn’t even hardcore, just walking on the treadmill or elliptical or bike at a moderate pace.  So last week I trooped over to LA Fitness (they finally opened the new one near my house) and got my weight workout in.  Then I happily jumped on the treadmill for 30 minutes.   It felt so good to get my legs going again!  I could feel a difference in my body by the next day.   Phase 2 has you doing cardio 3-4 days a week for 30 minutes.  Also—the workouts are upped to 5-6 days a week. 

But here’s the habit-forming part.  I actually enjoy going to the gym!  I look forward to it.  Remember I was a bit hesitant about joining the gym?  No longer!  I am amped up and ready to go and get going.  I took Sunday off to rest and to get some things done around the house and I actually felt a bit guilty.  And I missed it.  But I still stayed home to give my body a rest.  I think that’s really important, and I don’t want to get burned out.   I will be honest and tell you that I am not 100% perfect with the eating plan but I am doing SO MUCH better now that the holidays are over with!  I am planning my meals and thinking about what kinds of foods I am eating now more than ever!

That brings me to part 2 of my check-in.  My former hoarder room.  Since I stayed home yesterday and had no plans, I got lots of work done on my room.  The bed was a clothing repository.  Now there is only one small pile of pants that need to be hung.   I went through all of the old mail I had piled up ‘for later’ and either filed it or threw it away.  I have a new bag of clothing for the Veterans to pick up!  I used my time the best way for me: work for about an hour, take a 15 min break to do whatever (make tea, read Facebook, pet kittehs, pet kittehs, pet kittehs).  You get the idea.  I would show you a pic but I’m still too embarrassed.  Especially since I read a lot of home decorating blogs.   Tonite after I get home from the gym and have dinner, I will spend another hour or so working on it.  This time it will be hanging up and putting away the rest of the clothing.   In the meantime, I’m also scouting out some old night stands to redo for that room as well.  All I have in there now is a round table with a table cloth on it.  I’d rather have a cute little nightstand I can refinish like this one (link on pic):

I am scouting Craig’s List and also have a few ideas in the works.   I love the idea of painting it a pretty bright turquoise, but also wanted to paint my large armoire that color.  Maybe the nightstand will just get a coat of Old White.  But first I actually have to find one I like and that isn’t expensive! 

And I am getting better with my night before routine.  Now I get out my gym stuff and get it ready for the next day: my clothes, my drink, my workout binder and shoes.  I also think about what I am going to wear and get it out as well.  I am ready a lot quicker when everything is out for me and ready to go!! 

Still a good way to go but at least I am making some progress.  How are you doing with your resolutions or goals for this year?

I can haz stuff---no more stuff!

 

Really—I don’t need any MORE stuff. 

First of all—Happy 2012 to anyone reading this.  I hope you enjoyed your holidays and time off.  I know I did!  I had to work a few days but I got to enjoy LONG weekends and got a good bit of things done.  Wasn’t really thrilled to get up at 5am today and fight the snow (it’s still snowing out) into work, but I made it!

As anyone with ADD knows, it is very easy to ignore what I call the ‘chaos’ around you.  You can walk by it day after day and just put it out of your brain.  This drives DH insane about me but it does help me in many situations as well.  I don’t get all freaked out in a tense situation, I am able to put it out of my head and focus on the real situation at hand.  On the other hand, this little trait also allows me to ignore a big pile of stuff for days on end until I get the motivation to organize.  

However, the mess of the spare room/Melissa’s boudoir was even getting ME antsy!  I’ve decided that 2012 will be a year when I get some organization and routine in my room.  I don’t use the term resolution because I know that it will always be a struggle for me to stay organized and not ignore the chaos.  

I have found that for me to be successful with certain things I need to have a routine.  When I have a routine, I do SO MUCH better with what needs to be done every day.   For example, I will get up for work and do the same tasks in the same order as I get ready for work.  Sounds really annoying, but it works for me and it helps me not to forget anything like my lunch for the day, my ID badge, keys etc. 

Another thing that works for me is writing it down.  DH learned this the hard way with me.  I do the majority of the grocery shopping and I write the grocery list down before I leave so I don’t forget anything.  I will ask DH to add to the list and he used to get mad when I asked him to be more specific.  My reply was “If you are not specific, you are at the mercy of what I pick and I may not pick what you want.”   That problem was solved fairly quickly!!! 

 

Another place to check out is Flylady.net. I happened upon this site a few years ago after reading about her on a random blog.  Her advice is wonderful and it includes:

• Declutter for 15 minutes a day.  She’s right—we all have 15 minutes!  I think doing this at night before bed would be best for me.
• Take regular breaks.  This is especially important for we ADD’ers.  Over the holidays I spent a few hours cleaning up my room.  I would spend about 45 minutes cleaning and pitching before I took a 10 minute break.  I would stretch, walk around or read email.  Then I would get back to it.  This really helps me to not become distracted and wander off to do something else.
• Establish a routine.  That is one I already know works!  Find a routine that works for you and stick with it!  Have a backup routine too!
• Write out a list.  Very important again.  I realize that I am all over the place in trying to do a big task.  I can turn into the Tasmanian Devil.  Writing out a list beforehand (even if I end up editing) is a great way to get my thoughts in order and stick to my tasks.

Another motivator for me is browsing Pinterest for ideas on organization.  There are just so many ideas I never even thought of!  Some pics below (credit to source is in the link):

So tonite when I get home, I will write out a list of things that need to be done in my room.  I will also spend at least 15 minutes just cleaning up.   Once I have it cleaned up enough, I will order my Annie Sloan paint and paint the dresser!  

What are your fave organization tips?  I would LOVE to hear them!

Stay warm everyone (as the snow continues to fall here)!