Green Beans & Cake

I heart Mad Men

Mad Men is one of the best shows on TV. Anyone else **heart** this show?!

Happy Birthday...

...to me!  My husband is such a great gift-giver. I can be a difficult person to read for gifts. I honestly don't enjoy overly extravagant presents. I like thoughtful gifts that are unique. (and I provide very vague hints. haha) He wanted to wait until tonight to give me my presents. I, on the other hand, did not have that sort of patience. :)

My bounty:

Fresh vac : Who gets excited about vacuum sealed storage containers? ME!! I gave these to my aunt, and I was jealous of my own gift. I can't wait to use them.

Menu : A hip, Scandinavian design company. Wine pourer that oxygenates the wine as you pour it.

Gorgeous necklace (pictures soon!)

Do you "Baggu"?

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Love it.

J'aime la French Cowgirl

What a fantastic store...The French Cowgirl. I first noticed it as Sarah and I were running the Oklahoma City half-marathon. We saw it after some horrendous hills. (We should have stopped by...hehe) They had all sorts of great things. (from home decor to vintage & designer clothing) I, however, opted for three random items.

 

First, I'm kind of into gold right now. I wanted to find vintage (and cheap!) gold bracelets.

I couldn't resist this pink (bedazzled maybe?) and zebra striped nail file. I'm normally more of a minimalist when it comes to accessories, but sometimes I like to buy items that I ordinarily wouldn't consider owning.

Last but not least -- this towel. It's currently in my kitchen. I almost felt guilty as I purchased it. (uh, almost..haha)

My wannabe green thumb

It all started out so well. I wanted to grow my own "grape" tomatoes. For the first few weeks, my tomatoes flourished. I had 20 in total. When my tomatoes were "big" enough to go outside, they reacted positively to the new environment. Then...I went to Arizona and didn't water them. Here are the survivors.

I decided that I might have more of a chance as a gardener with artificial plants. hehe [Not to mention that the last time I brought in flowers from my garden, I had an outbreak of ants) I recycled three of my Izze soda bottles (so cute!) and put some colorful fake daisies in them. I accessorized the faux soil with brightly colored ribbon (lime green, orange, striped, polka dots).

 

What a diet!

Forget fruits and veges. I want THIS guy's diet...

A Newbury man who has lived off a diet of sandwiches, chocolate and crisps has celebrated his 100th birthday

A NEWBURY man who lived on a diet of sandwiches, crisps and chocolate for most of his life celebrated his 100th birthday on April 10. Leslie Brown, from Newbury, had barely eaten a cooked meal before moving into an independent care home in August last year. The former copywriter, who is still a bachelor and has no surviving relatives, lists Cadbury Milk chocolate and chicken sandwiches among his favourite. He said: �I like anything chocolate. I don�t have a favourite type of crisps, I�ll eat any that comes my way really.� Mr Brown only recently moved into Audrey Needham House in Newbury after living on his own in Hungerford until last summer. He spent his birthday celebrating with his oldest friend, Jean Brown, and other people from the care home. Ms Brown, aged 78, who is not a relative, made the special trip from her home in Newbury to have tea and chocolate cake with Mr Brown and presented him with a silver beer tankard. Julie Maidment, scheme manager at the home, said the trip to the social room was Mr Brown�s first since he arrived. She also said that staff made sure he got one cooked meal a day after years of eating sandwhiches and crisps. She said: �He�s never had a cooked meal since before he moved in here. He�s just very set in his ways and incredibly independent. �Now that he�s moved here we�ll make sure he gets one cooked meal a day. It�s also his first trip downstairs and we�ll get him out more often from now on.� Source: Newbury Today; Tony Chocolonely

Chile-n-chocolate

Sounds gross, doesn�t it? I thought so too until I tried a Mexican Hot Chocolate drink several years ago at Bailey�s Chocolate Bar in St. Louis. There�s just something captivating about the right mix of hot spices and the sweet taste of chocolate. Flash forward to yesterday. I went to my local health food store and bought a dark chocolate bar called �Xocolatl� by Dagoba. It contains organic dark chocolate, cane juice, cacao butter, cacao nibs, chili, maca, nutmug, and vanilla. It�s also gluten free.

I think that I prefer chocolate that is slightly sweeter than the Xocolatl bar, but it�s certainly worth trying. In addition to making great tasting chocolate, Dagoba is committed to �Full Circle Sustainability.� What exactly does Full Circle Sustainability mean? Here�s the short version.*

Full � Grounded upon a total commitment that brings deep rewards, joy and fulfillment.

Circle � Like ripples in water, our actions reverberate past ourselves and the present, drawing forces beyond our own for positive change.

Sustainability � A perennial species, grounded on solid roots that support new growth each year.

*Note: This is a direct quote from Dagoba�s website.