Friday Archives - Page 13 of 15 - Adulting: Second- Half

Favorite Flora Friday

Hi readers! Happy Friday!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!! New readers, on Fridays we discuss STUFF – the material parts of life that make living grand. On Friday, I mention three of my favorite things, songs, websites, books, etc. etc. and I ask you to add some of your favorite STUFF in the Comments section. Please check out previous Friday posts (there are a lot of them by now), for more favorites.

I grew up in Pennsylvania. In the summertime, in Pennsylvania, people have flowers galore. It is truly lovely. I spent my thirties in North Carolina. Carolinians enjoy beautiful flowers in the summer time, too, but due to the heat they don’t plant quite as many of them, as the northerners do, in my experience. When I lived in NC, I fell in love with the Crepe Myrtle bushes/trees. Carolinians plant those beauties everywhere! Then in my forties, we moved to Florida. I was shocked to see that people didn’t plant a whole lot of the traditional flowers that I was used to seeing. You see, Florida is just too damn hot in the summer and delicate flowers like impatiens, just wither and fry down to nothing, unless they are connected to a drip, containing gallons of water. And even then, there are no guarantees. However, tropical flowers bask and thrive in the Florida sun and grow at exponential rates, so much so, that soon a machete becomes a much needed gardener’s tool.

Above are pictures of three of my favorite Florida Loving Plants. Here is why:

Bromelaid – I bought one small bromelaid with its gorgeous pink flower, a few years back, to support breast cancer awareness. Well, now we own about 18 of these beauties from that one small plant. These plants put rabbits to shame in the field of reproduction. Their flower is so dramatic, and bursts with color and energy and it blooms for a long time. I love, love, love this plant!!

Musical Note Clerodendrum – This plant is fabulous. It’s blooms are white puffs that look just like musical notes. It constantly blooms as if it is constantly singing. Ours really took off when we planted it in a flower bed, by the small lake that we have out back. It looks delicate, but it can’t help but thrive and bloom and burst with its song, in our tropical environment.

Chenille Plant (red-hot cattail) – I have this plant in a jardiniere (remember that word from last week, friends??) by my front door. It just grows and flows like a little waterfall full of pink, fuzzy caterpillars. It does just fine in hot Florida, although it does require a fair amount of watering. (I sometimes pour a little ice in it, and it seems to appreciate the effort while it withstands the sunshine)

Enjoy your weekend, friends! As always, thank you so much for your support and validation!

The Face of Friday

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I couldn’t resist this one, guys! I am going to see Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood tonight and I am looking forward to some great acting! New readers, there is nothing but surface stuff here on Fridays, at Adulting- Second Half. On Fridays, I pick three of my favorite items, foods, songs, books, etc. and I encourage you to share your favorites in my comments section. Please see previous Friday postings for over a year’s worth of my favorites!

Today’s favorites:

The Original Make Up Eraser – This is a miracle cloth. I have sensitive eyes, so most make-up removers tend to burn my eyes or make them swell. This item is just a cloth that you dampen slightly and it removes your eye make-up in an easy couple of swoops. I am shocked that it works as well and as easily as it does. It is sort of like a slightly shaggy washcloth, that can be thrown in the clothes washer to clean it. Love it!

SouthEndGirlArt (etsy) – I bought a small woodblock piece of artwork from this artist’s adorable collection and I adore it. The artist, Tiffanie Seiler suggests that their small size is perfect for closets or other small spaces. I actually keep mine in my car, so that every time that I get into the car, a beautiful, whimsical, spiritual looking woman smiles at me with the word NAMASTE resting beneath her ethereal presence. The artist has actually licensed her whimsical mermaids and little girls and cute animal images and they have been featured at Trader Joe’s and even on a wine label. Pick out your own one-of-a-kind piece at her etsy store!

Jardinière – I took Latin, so I just learned this word last week. It is the French word for gardener, in its feminine form. I bought a wonderful, old, interesting vintage flower pot adorned with two dragon handles from a cool retro store in the artsy end of town, last week. The tag had this word on it and I thought that it referred to the actual artist or maker, but I was wrong. Jardiniere refers to any fancy variety of pottery used to house plants. There are a lot of collectors of Jardiniere in the world, and I just discovered that I am one of them and that I have been one of them for quite some time. There is nothing more delightful than a beautiful flowering plant, housed in a unique, eye-catching pot – the house that the plant deserves and where it will be happy to flourish and bloom. Don’t just settle for generic terra cotta pots – you and your plants deserve more! Jardiniere it, baby!

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Feeling Friday

Hi Friends!! Happy Friendly Friday!! Yay, Friday is finally here!! On Fridays, at Adulting – Second Half, we keep it Frivolous! Frivolous Friday!! On Fridays, I list three favorite products, services, websites, songs, etc. and I encourage readers to add some favorites to my Comments section, so that we all can have some Friday fun! Please see previous Friday postings for more ideas. Here are this Friday’s Favorites:

Secret Box New York Constellation Earrings – I love these earrings! They take your zodiac sign’s star constellation and make them into a pair of intriguing, mismatched earrings. One side is just the major star (one CZ) and the other side is the rest of the constellation. These are fun and definitely conversation starters. They have constellation necklaces to match, as well. Unique, and can be dressed up or down!

Chanchitos – “In the small village of Pomaire, Chile, it is believed that “chanchitos,” little pigs, bring good luck. Three legged chanchitos are especially fortunate and are traditionally given to friends as a token of goodwill and love.” I found these sweet trinkets at a little souvenier shop recently and I brought one back for me and my kids. My little chanchito is smiling at me right now, as I write my blog. They are inexpensive, cute reminders of just how lucky we all are, just to be breathing and soaking in this miraculous experience called Life. You can find similar ones to what I bought, at Many Hands Gallery, on-line.

Emu Oil – I recently bought some emu oil cream because I was in a climate much more dry and less humid than me and my skin are used to being in. I have used it before, but I forgot just how emollient, and saturating and healing, emu oil really is for our skin, the largest organ of our bodies. One person told me that emu oil healed her sister’s scars after a sledding accident. It is particularly good for sensitive skin. If you have spent a little too much time in the sun lately, you need emu – emu 4 u.

Friday Blues

Happy Friday, readers and friends!!! Happy Friday all!!! Honestly, this particular Friday is the first Friday, in a LONG while, that I wish it weren’t Friday. This Friday marks the almost end of a wonderful, memorable family vacation. It marks the end of something that we all have been looking forward to and anticipating for a long, long time. As my family grows up and out, I realize that each of these vacations are even more precious than ever, as our six schedules are becoming more and more complex to allow these long, interrupted periods of time with each other, to even be a possibility. Since I am experiencing my ultimate favorite thing – uninterrupted adventures with my family, I am going to stop posting and start adventuring and I won’t be listing my three favorite things. Please don’t let that stop you from sharing some favorites in my comments section and new readers, please check out previous Friday postings where I usually list three favorite products, tips, websites, songs, etc. that have wowed my world.

Happy Friday Friends!! Enjoy your day and have a wonderful weekend!!!

Embrace The Suck

Happy Friday!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!! Dear friends and readers, thanks a million for supporting my blog! I love to wake up and to start writing and I really appreciate all of the Comments. You guys make my day!! But you can’t have a bad day on Friday, no matter what. It’s just not possible. New readers, on Fridays we keep it superficial here at Adulting- Second Half and we discuss about three products, ideas, songs, apps, etc. etc. that make life just a little more fun. Please share your favorites in the Comments section and check out all previous Friday posts for other great ideas! Without further ado . . . .

Batucada Jewelry – Just when you think that you have seen every style of jewelry known to man, you look into a store window and you see something entirely new and unique! Batucada jewelry is made of a light, rubbery material that is perfect for summer fun, sitting by the pool or sunning on the beach. It looks like a fun tattoo or a piece of stained glass sitting on your skin, whether you are wearing a necklace or a bracelet. Batucada jewelry (which is a Brazilian samba-type percussion rhythm, btw) is relatively inexpensive and beyond interesting. You will be wearing a conversation piece, for sure. The jewelry started in Paris, so make sure you that you go to their USA website, for ordering. (if you are one of my American readers)

Embrace The Suck – This is the Navy Seals’ motto. This is their cool way (because The Navy Seals are THE definition of cool) of saying “consciously decide to accept and maybe even appreciate that which is unavoidable, unpleasant and all-together scary.” I have been using this mantra with my kids as they head to their summer positions as camp counselors. That which we resist, persists. So the Seals say, stop resisting. Start embracing. It makes sense. We can’t all be Navy Seals, but we all CAN make an effort to Embrace The Suck. Go all in! Go Navy!

Darn Tough Socks Vermont – My family loves outdoor adventures. We love to hike. We have another vacation planned nearby to a huge national park this year and my husband has already purchased a box of these socks for us, as an early vacation present. Darn Tough Socks are made for all weather, they are meant to keep your feet cool in the summer and warm in the winter, they are known to stay in place, on your feet, all day and in their words, these socks are so durable that they are guaranteed for life. Darn Tough socks come in all sorts of fun colors and they do make the hiking experience that much more comfortable, in order to keep trudging along to adventures awaiting.

Fur- riday

Hello readers and friends!! Hello Friday is right!! New readers, Fridays are fun here at Adulting – Second Half. We call them “Favorite Things Friday”. I keep things on the light and bright and I typically list around three things, ideas, websites, songs, etc. that I recommend highly. I also highly encourage you to give us some of your favorites in the Comments section. Please also see previous Friday listings for more favorites to make your Friday even more fabulous than it already is . . . . here we go:

Farmhouse Culture Ginger Beet Gut Shots – Let me preface this by saying, I hate beets. I don’t like the taste of this concoction at all. My husband and I drink this in one full swoop, from shot glasses every morning and I pinch my nose. (this is the only kind of shot that we can still handle at our ages) However, the key word here is “gut”. This liquid really, really does help with digestion and making your stomach feel good. I like me a happy tummy! My husband first discovered this at Costco. I have since bought it at Earth Fare. It’s not cheap, but a little goes a long way. So, these gut shots have now been added to our daily regiment of the other 6,592 supplements we take on a daily basis. (recently my husband asked into the air, “I wonder which of all of this stuff actually works?”)

RecoverT Wrap Bracelets – I found these bracelets at a local art fair and I love them, and I’ve given them away and I always find a reason to buy more of them. Wrap bracelets are something that I wear almost on a daily basis and these are particularly neat. Most of them have charms that have uplifting words, prayers, scripture or symbols on them. The braided cords are made out of colorful recycled t-shirts, so the bracelets are pliable and easy to wrap around your wrist as many times as you need to do it. The best part about the bracelets is that they are created by women in recovery. The shop is found on Etsy and this is their motto: We are “Recycling T-shirts and Recovering Lives”.

Erno Laszlo White Marble Dual Phase Vitamin C Peel – Okay, this stuff is pretty pricey. However, a little bit goes a long way and the difference in your skin, especially right after you use it, is truly remarkable. I’m forever wanting the skin that I see on people which looks like it was just taken out of the package and put on their faces, that very morning. You know what I mean – “the shiny, happy people look.” I don’t mean shiny like sweaty, I mean shiny, like brand-spanking-new and sparkly. This at-home product really helps to take your skin in that direction and it does not burn or sting.

A week ago, when my eldest son came home for his brother’s graduation, our Labrador retriever, Ralphie, discovered our eldest son, early in the morning, still asleep in his bed. (my son had gotten in really late the night before and Ralphie was already asleep in his crate at that time) I’ve never seen Ralphie more joyously happy than in the moment that he discovered that our son had come home. His tail was wagging so hard that it was swinging his hips, back and forth, like a pendulum. He kept jumping up and down in mid-air. He licked my son’s face like it was the last T-bone steak on Earth. Ralphie kept looking back at me, like he was saying, “Mom, do you see who it is?!?! He’s back!! He’s back!! Can you believe it?!?” Ralphie got three toys in his mouth at once and offered them up to my son, like they were gold, frankincense and myrrh. Ralphie perfectly portrayed everything that I was feeling in my heart. I say this story to remind myself to live and love with reckless abandon. Have a Ralphie kind of Friday, friends! Heck, have a Ralphie kind of a weekend, if you dare!! See you tomorrow.

Ehh, It’s Friday

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Happy Friday, friends and readers!!! This one felt “long in coming” didn’t it?!? New readers, I love Fridays. We don’t go into deep subjects on Fridays here at Adulting – Second Half. On Fridays, I discuss three favorite things/songs/websites/ideas, etc. and I highly encourage you to share your favorites (anything goes!) in the Comments section. Please check out previous Friday posts for more favorites. Here are today’s favorites and they are all random and in no specific category:

Sconza Chocolates Lemoncello Chocolate Almonds – My family first had these “euphoria for your mouth” almonds in California last summer. I was absolutely delighted when Costco started carrying them, although I have the feeling that they were a limited special purchase. Get these yellow nuggets of gastro gold, however you can. Find a way. I would beg, borrow and steal for this candy. And you know, on a happy note, almonds are a super food . . . .

Next, by now, you regular readers know how much I love Think Smarter on Twitter. I attribute 60-70 percent of my “smarts” to this feed. Below is my favorite post yet. They posted it just a few days ago. I LOVE when a few words can encapsulate a feeling, or an experience, or a nuance that we all can relate to:

(It’s not just “human” that this applies to – our dogs have idiosyncrasies that evoke the same smile in my heart)

Final favorite this Friday –

Frontgate Ultralight Slimline 4-Step Ladder – I may have shared this one already, this is how much I love it. It bears repeating. This is not your average step ladder. Granted, it is not inexpensive but it is worth every penny. It is as sturdy as they come, and the best part is that it folds up so skinny that we keep ours in between our washer and our dryer. This ladder is so skinny, that if it were your friend, you’d secretly hate her. It is light and easy to carry from room to room, too, so you really only need one of them and it comes in all sorts of color choices.

And a final thought for this Friday as you head out to festivities for the night:

“At every party there are two kinds of people – those who want to go home and those who don’t. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other.”– Ann Landers

Stop Stressin’

“It doesn’t need to be a great day, as long as it is Friday.” – upJourney

Happy Friday, readers and friends!! Here at Adulting Second Half, Fridays remain fun and frivolous!! We don’t take anything seriously on Fridays. On most Fridays, I list three Favorites (whether they be things, books, music, etc.) and I strongly encourage you to share your favorites in the Comments section. Please check out previous Friday blogs for other excellent ideas to brighten up your living experience!

Here are this Friday’s Favorites:

Toffee-To-Go – I adore toffee. I love Heath bars. However, this Toffee-To-Go is the best toffee that I have ever eaten. It is the best combination of chocolate and nuts (which is the best combination in the world to begin with). It is totally impossible to not eat a small box of this mixed perfection in just one sitting. Go to their website now and order yourself a little box to be delivered to you or to your friends and associates, straight from Heaven.

Ballard Designs Clothes Drying Rack – A very wise, creative closet designer suggested that we add this dream contraption to our newly remodeled laundry room and I am so happy that she did! (shout out, Jo Anne) This drying rack hangs on the wall of your room and you pull the racks down from their magnetic closures, to dry your socks and intimates and whatever else you prefer not to put into your dryer. When you are finished, you just close the racks back up and they fold nicely back into the frame on the wall. Before this, we used to haphazardly dry our things on various pieces of furniture and unfortunately, some of the wooden furniture shows that we did that, with ugly water wear marks. (so sorry, my lovely, beloved rocking chair) This rack comes in all different sizes and is sturdy and attractive and yet, still extremely useful.

Madonna’s Medellin video – Love or or hate her, you have to hand it to her, Madonna remains transformational, relevant and interesting to this day. She came on to the scene when I was just 12 years old and now at age 48, I am encouraging you to check out her new video. The video is raunchy and racy and controversial (would we expect anything else from her?), but it’s fascinating to watch and I do really like the beat of the song. I watched a little bit of her MTV interview about the video and here are a few interesting tidbits that I took from it:

Madonna picked the directors for this video because she wanted it to look “painterly” (her words) and surreal. It does seem otherworldly.

Madonna currently lives in Lisbon, Portugal. She moved there so that one of her sons, who wants to become a professional soccer player, can get his best training. In her words, Madame X (her new persona) is a “soccer mom” at heart.

Madonna believes that it is MUSIC that universally connects all people of the world. “We were connected before Instagram, people, seriously.” (her words)

Finally, Madonna told one of her fans that she wanted to get back to her naivety. Now, most people don’t look at Madonna and think, “naive and innocent.” She explained that what she meant is the naivety that she had when she just started out and didn’t care, at all, what people thought of her or of her work. Madonna explains that when she was young and starting out, she created herself and her craft, out of pure passion and inventiveness, without giving much credence to other people’s influence and criticisms.

I have never found Madonna to be a particularly warm, ingratiating person, but I really do respect her vision and her daring and her inspiration. She is encouragement for all of us Second Halfers to keep on creating, doing and exploring what makes us alive and “naive”, in the best sense of the word. And for that reason, I’m grateful for her influence.

What the Friday?!?

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Welcome to Favorite Things Friday!!! Every Friday, here at Adulting Second Half, we keep it frivolous! There is no seriousness on Friday, unless you take your consumerism very seriously. On Friday, I list three favorite items, websites, videos, songs, etc. that I find interesting and I always encourage comments from my readers letting us know about a few more favorites, you would recommend. Don’t be shy, guys!! New readers, please check out previous Friday posts for other good ideas to make you life just a little more peachy!

Here goes:

Dog Tags at Growlees.com – Our house is having some renovations done, so my front door has become a revolving door for all different craftsmen and construction workers. I have seen more pictures and heard more stories about their dogs than I have in a long time, as they kindly pet my pestering pooches. People love their dogs! We have two dogs and I am hoping that my pups lose their tags soon, so I can buy them new ones at this site. These tags are hilarious and there is a myriad to chose from. Some of the sayings printed on them are these: “I Eat Homework”, “Rub My Belly For Luck”, “Attention Seeker” (that tag would be good for a few people I know 😉 ), “Foodie”, “Have Your People Call My People”, etc. Even if you don’t have a dog, go to the website and check them out for a few Friday giggles.

OxyLED Motion Sensor Rechargeable Wardrobe Lights – I love jewelry and accessories and I have a lot of baubles. We have had closet organization companies coming out to give us quotes, and one woman who came out, even suggested that how I keep my necklaces lined up, hanging on the fronts of wire shelves, is kind of “hokey.” Well, hokey works for me and I’ve decided to convert a small, linen closet into my own hokey haven, for all my accessories. These lights that I purchased on Amazon are rechargeable, come with a magnetic strip to hang them on and have motion detectors, so they’ll only turn on when I open up my “hokey pokey” jewelry closet.

Rebecca Minkoff Key Chains – For years and years, I was one of “those people” who always loses their keys. I had to come up with a system to help me stop wasting my time looking for keys. (on an aside, true confession – I have looked for “lost” glasses that were sitting on my head and looked for my “lost” phone, while having a conversation on it. No horse pucky.) So, now, I always, always put my keys on designated hooks right by our garage and I always purchase giant, obnoxious (yet, adorable) key chains. My Rebecca Minkoff key chain has a little leather doll wearing cute sunglasses on it, plus a big, bright pink leather tassel on it, both being over 4 inches tall. I never have any problem finding my keys in my purse anymore, thanks to my colossal-sized key chains. I highly recommend my system, to any friends out there who are kind of absent-minded, like me.

Have a great weekend, friends. I’m ending with a note that I’m sending to Monday:

“I’m Sorry, That’s Incorrect.”

“Happy Friday! Here’s to all of us who made it through another week of faking adulthood.” – Nanea Hoffman

“Every Friday, I like to high five myself for getting through another week on little more than caffeine, will power, and inappropriate humor.”- Nanea Hoffman

Happy Friday!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!! New readers, I don’t do deep thoughts on Friday. I keep it light and list three “anythings” that I really like and recommend for you to try. Please check out previous Friday posts for other “favorites” and please add some favorites in the Comments section, as I’m always looking for “new favorites.”

As I was pondering my favorites, I thought of a woman I worked with once, who had a funny little idiosyncrasy. Whenever I would express an opinion, such as, “That’s a lovely shade of blue,” she would answer, “Correct.” (kind of like Alex Trebek) She never said, “Incorrect,” that I can remember. I didn’t know her well enough nor did I think that it was my place to “correct” her grammar and to explain the difference between opinions and facts, with only facts truly being able to be “correct or incorrect.” Further, she seemed to think that my opinions were “correct” a lot of the time and I liked that fact. Anyway, this is just a long way of saying that the items that I recommend on Fridays are just my opinion and it’s worth a try, to see if I am “correct” (in your opinion) about what is good. Here we go:

Forza Mirror (Z Gallerie) – I just bought this gorgeous, big, round mirror for the hall bathroom that we had remodeled. I LOVE it! It is huge and detailed and beveled and silver. I love that it adds a modern, glitzy look to an otherwise classic style room/cabinetry. It seems like a little taste of Miami flash on an otherwise preppy, traditional outfit. It’s like that fabulous favorite belt that brings together the whole outfit. Candy for the eyes!

Too Faced Sun Bunny Bronzer – I live in Florida. I’m supposed to look tan all of the time, but at the same time having an “actual, sun-imposed tan” is frowned upon. (On an aside, my friend and I were giggling shamefully about our younger years when the only sunscreen we applied was Baby Oil. She said that she added a little iodine in hers, for color. Then we would fry, get blisters, peel and tell ourselves that it would soon “turn to tan.” Thank goodness for progress in skincare.) Anyway, this is my favorite bronzer. It looks natural, not too orange and I like its name, “Sun Bunny.”

TUT – Notes from the Universe – I have been getting these “Notes from the Universe” in my email for years now. They are so inspiring and uplifting and I think that the founder of TUT, Mike Dooley, is an excellent spiritual teacher. Let me share today’s note:

“Think of someone very, very special to you.

Now feel yourself bursting with love for them.

Now mentally shower, drench and soak them in all that love.

Now mentally shower, drench and soak yourself in My love.

Cascades,

The Universe”

You are loved, my dear readers, more than you could ever know! Drench yourself in my love, your family’s love, your friends’ love, your dog’s love, God’s love, and have a great weekend, you, love sponge, you!!! And this is fact, absolutely CORRECT, FACT!!!

a O