Happy Friday! Last week was utter insanity and I did, indeed, skip Friday Five! I had the best of intentions. My brother and his girlfriend were out to visit, and I took my camera with us when we went to Balboa Island. However, we arrived there and I went to grab my camera…no card, no batteries! I was prepping for a wedding so all my batteries were being charged and I’d taken out my cards to format them. I’ve never arrived to a portrait session without everything I needed, but this wasn’t the first time I forgot something for a personal project! Oh, well!
1. Herb garden
My husband and I live in a condo, so we don’t have space to plant anything. Even if we did, I don’t have a green thumb and I doubt we’d have a vegetable garden. However, we always have a potted herb garden! I learned long ago when a recipe calls for fresh parsley, dried is not an acceptable substitute. Herbs pretty much grow like weeds and don’t die when I forget to water them…which is often. I love having a fresh herb garden!
Another reason I like having a garden is a few select drinks I make in the summer that require herbs :) A couple of summers ago we went to the JW Marriott for a weekend trip. The stay was amazing, but I also had a drink there I’ve never forgotten – it was raspberries muddled with thyme and it was delicious! The version from Bon Appetit is the closest I’ve come to recreating it. I like to add a little club soda because I like bubbly drinks :)
3. Caffeine
My position on caffeine can be summed up via someecards:
I admit I love energy drinks, which I know are not great for you, so I’ve been trying to transition to tea. I love Yogi Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy tea because it has a healthy caffeine kick :)
The only problem with tea is it takes FOREVER to make and drink tea. Heat the water to boiling. Brew the tea. Wait 15 minutes so you don’t scald off your tastebuds. Fortunately, I just discovered a website that provided me a solution to my tea making quandry!
2. Fab.com
I read about this via Perfectly Cursed Life and I just love Fab.com! It’s similar to the Rue La Las of the world, but instead of clothing or beauty, they focus on home goods, as well as offbeat items. I have pretty modern taste and a lot of their items appeal to me, but I only recently purchased something from the site! I bought this Takeya tea maker which I just love!
It’s perfect for brewing large batches of tea. Then I can refrigerate and heat up when I want a little tea. Non-scalded tastebuds, rejoice!
5. DRY soda
I don’t drink pop. That’s right, I said pop, I’m from the midwest! ;) I mean, I use it as a mixer for drinks, but in general, I never crave it. I don’t even like cola. But I DO like buying new, trendy things! I don’t remember where I heard about DRY soda, but I was pretty excited to see the lavender flavor at Ralph’s.
This is SO GOOD! It’s probably not for everyone, but it’s the perfect combination of lavender, a touch of sweetness, and bubbles, of course! It also smells divine! A bit of a relaxing soda (pop), if you will.
Happy Friday!
