Hi friends!! Happy Friday!!! Yay!!! Yay!!! This blog celebrates Fridays in a light and happy way by celebrating three of my favorite things, ideas, tips, websites, songs, etc., on my favorite day of the week, Friday. Please check out previous Friday posts for other good ideas, and as always, I welcome your ideas and suggestions, in the Comments section.
Today, I am doing a tropical themed Friday. I grew up in Pittsburgh. I know how long and brutal northern winters can get. They are beautiful and cozy, too, I know, but sometimes you just need a break from the cold. My three favorite suggestions today will make you feel like you are on a Caribbean vacation without having to leave the house or spend thousands of dollars. Here we go:
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess perfume and Escada Agua Del Sol perfume – If you spray either of these scents and close your eyes, you are at the beach. These scents are the essence of tropical vacations all in a little bottle. You can only get Bronze Goddess at certain times of the year at the Estee counter, but that’s okay. That is what eBay is for, right? If you are a perfume hound like me, remember that many times you can buy samples of scents that you would like to try from sellers on eBay at a fraction of the cost of a full bottle. However, these two scents are so wonderful, I recommend a full bottle purchase.
Steel Drum Island Collection CDs – Okay, close your eyes, spray one of the above mentioned scents and listen to one of these awesome, fun CDs and I assure you, you will be transported to an island or the deck of a cruise ship. I like to drive around with my car’s convertible top down, playing these CDs, especially when I pick up friends and family at the airport. Talk about setting the mood! Don’t worry, be happy! That’s what steel drums convey. I like their Volume 1 the best, but they are all good. They may have a digital form, but I still have an old fashioned CD player in my car, so they’re my jam. You can find more information at SteelDrumIsland’s website.
B.B.C. drink – There is a really cool story behind this one and by now, you know that I love stories, so read carefully before I give you the recipe. My husband and I honeymooned almost 25 years ago on the beautiful island of St. Martin/St. Maarten. We were married in October of 1994. When I decided to do a tropical theme for Favorite Things Friday, I went to my special drawer yesterday (we all have a special drawer, right?) and I found what I was searching for – a coaster. This coaster is a cardboard resort coaster, on which our favorite server wrote the recipe for our favorite honeymoon tropical drink. We have kept this coaster for all of these years, and it has made all of our moves. The resort that we stayed in was on the French side of the island and it was absolutely fabulous. The coaster jogged my memory and I decided to look up the resort yesterday, even considering a romantic revisit. It turns out that, sadly, the resort named La Belle Creole was destroyed by Hurricane Luis in 1995 and was never rebuilt. It is now in ruins and is laden by folklore and ghost stories. I told my husband that we broke the mold and I even suggested that maybe we are just ghosts! Anyway, this drink was created before Starbucks took hold. I would say that this drink tastes like a tropical, alcoholic version of a Starbucks iced coffee. Here is the recipe: 1/2 ounces fresh bananas, 2 oz Baileys Irish Creme, 1 oz Coco Lopez (canned coconut product). Blend with crushed ice in a blender. Yummy!!!
Okay, close your eyes, smell the islands, hear the islands, taste the islands! You are welcome!!! Happy Friday, my friends!!
“One of these days I am going to go on vacation and “forget” to come back.” -Margaritaville