Time in a bottle.... or fragrance really.

Summer is around the corner and I know for some of my friends and family the warmer whether cannot come soon enough. Not to rub it in but here in sunny South Florida it seems to always be some variation of summer. Nothing reminds me more of this season than the scent of suntan lotion. The fragrance of coconut, zingy mandarin orange and sweet pineapple sends my senses a drift to a white sandy beach and a cool cocktail. It's amazing how the power of a fragrance can take you to a place or time, just like a song on the radio, I can remember events in my life from the scents that I wore or used at the time.

For me, smell of suntan lotion reminds me of when I would spend all day at the beach during summer time. I used to wear Aqua de Gio from Armani during a trip to Canada for my Grandmother's 80th Birthday. The scent of Sunflowers from Victoria Secrets takes me to a trip to Disney with my best friend. Also, VS  Very Sexy reminds me of when my husband and I were first dating.

Scents can be very powerful in the way they can help invoke certain memories or be apart of new ones. I try to keep that in mind when selecting fragrances for my Water Bottle Soaps. I like to keep a variety of scents from the warm and comfy like Oatmeal, milk and honey to the fresh like Cool Citrus Basil to the floral like French Lime Blossom. I love when customers tell me "this is my favorite" or "your soaps smell so good, I can't decide which one I like best". Let's face it who wants a stinky soap anyway. One of the great features I love about my soaps is that the fragrance last, not only from the beginning to the very end of the soap but for years..... yes years! I still have some of my first test batches (circa 2008) and they smell just as good as the day they were poured. Best part is they leave your skin with a gentle kiss of fragrance.

I'd love to hear what your favorite fragrance is and what memory it reminds you of....

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on it's way.

Its that time of year to celebrate birth and rebirth as Mother Nature awakens from her long (for those up north extremely long) slumber. It's time for blossoms to bloom, birds to twitter (not on the internet) and new life to begin. Easter has never really been my favorite holiday... it's a great holiday don't get me wrong, full of colors, poofy dresses with hats to match, going to Church for almost a whole week, if you are Catholic and chocolate (you knew I would sneak that in). As a child my most favorite Easter basket goodie was a fresh new box of Crayola crayons. I can still smell the fresh wax rainbow as I opened the box, not the 8 pack, no, no my friends, Easter called for the 64 pack and in those days it had a sharpener in the back of the box.
Sigh, that is one of my favorite scents, right next to new car smell and the fragrance of new money.

The bigger meaning that the crayons held was my parents support in my creativity. It's so very important that we nurture children's creativity and empower them to imagine. Imagination is the key to many of man's greatest accomplishments. To take the ordinary and make it extraordinary, it can be as profound as changing the way we communicate and follow the lives of friends and loved ones to as simple a taking an everyday object, such as a water bottle and using one more time before being recycled. It's all apart of the creative mind, seeing beyond the eye of the beholder. Creativity is not just limited to crafty projects, it can come in many forms for instance in medicine. The leaps and bounds in prosthetics are apart of having a creative mind. In a nutshell, the Easter season always super charges my creativity and the birth of new ideas. For those who celebrate, I wish you a Happy Easter Season!

2 was better than 3!

My son turned 3 in January, watching him grow and change has been so rewarding. Gone are the days of him crawling, babbling and me trying to figure out what he needs or wants. Now he tells me he's hungry, or thirsty, or wants to potty. He also lets me know in a very distinct way that he is displeased... My beautiful boy started to have all out screaming tantrums. At first they were minor sessions of him yelling "that's mine!" or "I want!" lately they he's been shrieking like a banshee, big crocodile tear, red faced melt downs that cause me major anxiety and embarrassment. The first aforementioned red faced-banshee incident happened in the middle of Publix (our local grocery store) it was a typical day nothing out of the ordinary. As we passed by the bakery with all the delicious goods the colorful frosted cupcake caught Darin's eye. Then the "I want's" started, the "Gimme's" followed. As I calmly explained that we do not need cupcakes because we have at home, the "It's Mine" and the crocodile tears started. Progressing in to the flailing of arms and legs as we moved on through the store. The further away we moved the louder and more upset he became until he hit a high pitched note that would make Mariah Carey green with envy. My heart stopped, I turned white as a ghost and felt the eyes of every customer on me and my possessed child. Mortified I grabbed him out of the cart bucking and screaming like a wild bronco and fled the store, sans dinner for the night.

I've read a few Mommy blogs of women who have dealt with their children's tantrums, some positively, other.. well. In one of them, she expressed how in an instant she hated her child. In the fraction of a millisecond when her child was in full Chernobyl melt down she hated him. When reading this post I thought how horrible, how could you ever for a split second hate this miracle you created. Until... it happened to me!

In the second Darin's went from 0 to over the top extreme melt down, I felt it... I hate my child. As soon as the thought entered my head, I felt guilty. Oh no... I'm a horrible Mother, I just felt it for a brief instant. How, how can this be, in one fraction of a second my thought process I would go to me hating my precious baby boy. On top of feeling humiliated, I felt angry, both at Darin and myself... more myself. By the time we arrived at home, Darin finally calmed down in the form of a nap, and I ... I was left to quietly ponder the array of emotions the past 20 minutes barraged me with and if I should have just bought the cupcakes.

It really does take a village to help raise a child and thankfully my Father was there with some pretty good advise. "Talk to him" he said, you stay calm and talk to him, he's too young to understand but if your calm he will slowly regain composure, then he will tell you what he wants..... Really, that works? So, in the throws of the next catastrophic melt down I tried it. I took a great deal of patience, and a cool baby wipe to the face but I was able to calm Darin down to a point and he was able to use his "big boy words" and tell me what he wanted. It does not mean he always gets what he wants but in expressing his desires and me taking the time to listen it makes a difference in his reactions and the tantrums do not last as long. This technique has been working so far, and the key is to control the situation. Darin is an overall easy child but like every child he does not always know how to express himself. As for me "hating" him... that is a guilt I carried for a little while but when he says to me "Mommy lets dance" or tell me a knock knock joke and we laugh hysterically I know I could never really hate my child because he fills my heart with so much love some days it feels like it will explode.

No veggies here... or are there?

In an effort to add more vegetables to my family's diet I turned to the culinary genius at ... Pintrest (of course!). While trolling through yummy recipe after the other I came across on for Mac and Cheese geared towards Toddlers made with Sweet Potato. What a brilliant idea! This will be a great way to add an extra dose of veg to one of Darin's (my 3 year old) favorite meals. Now truth be told I did not follow the recipe to the exact letter mainly because I did not have any Sweet Potatoes in the house but I did have Cauliflower.

*Here are the health benefits of Cauliflower:
While cauliflower is not a well-studied cruciferous vegetable from a health standpoint, you will find several dozen studies linking cauliflower-containing diets to cancer prevention, particularly with respect to the following types of cancer: bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer. This connection between cauliflower and cancer prevention should not be surprising, since cauliflower provides special nutrient support for three body systems that are closely connected with cancer development as well as cancer prevention. These three systems are (1) the body's detox system, (2) its antioxidant system, and (3) its inflammatory/anti-inflammatory system. Chronic imbalances in any of these three systems can increase risk of cancer, and when imbalances in all three systems occur simultaneously, the risk of cancer increases significantly.*

First, I boiled 1/2 box of pasta and 1/2 a head of Cauliflower together in the same pot. Once the Cauliflower was fork tender, I tossed the florets and a few spoons of the pasta water in my handy Baby Bullet mixer and pureed it into a smooth apple sauce consistency. Next, I drained the pasta once it was "al dente" and set aside. In the same pot I started to make my roux, by adding equal parts on flour and butter (about 1 table spoon each) once the flour and butter combined to make a blonde paste (this is almost instant) then slowly added the Cauliflower puree to the pot, constantly but gently stirring the ingredients together until well blended and the Cauliflower puree is even thicker. If you find the sauce is too thick you can added a splash of milk to thin it out. I let the sauce marry for a few minutes then added in the cheese. For this particular dish I used a Mexican shredded blend but feel free to you whatever you have on hand. I used about 2 cups of cheese and slowly added it to the pot stirring to combine and make sure the sauce is smooth. Once the cheese is all melted in the sauce, fold in your cooked pasta. When all the pasta is coated in the delicious yummy sauce, it's time to serve.

Now since this was mainly for my little one I didn't really season it, however, we adults like comfort food too, so before you add the cheese you can add salt, pepper and a dash of fresh grated nutmeg for added flavor. This recipe took me about 25-30 mins to make even with the blending and sauce prep. I find it so much easier to use one pot for this dish, plus less clean up. 

To make this even more healthier you can use reduced fat cheese and 2% milk to thin your sauce. You can add green peas, either fresh or froze (thaw before use), even carrots or chopped broccoli florets. It can even be made sinful, instead of using butter for your roux fry up some chopped bacon, remove the cooked bits and leave the grease in the pan, add your flour to create the roux and snag up all that good smoky flavor from the bacon. Once the roux is a blonde paste add your cauliflower and proceed with the recipe. When ready to serve sprinkle some of the bacon and a little finely chopped Parsley on top. Three words for any of these versions: Happy, Happy, Happy!
Enjoy!!

*Source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=13

Stir it up... Beef Stir Fry

As a busy Mompreneur, quick and easy meals are a blessing right next to the pizza delivery man. My take on beef stir fry was influenced by a trip to Costco. They have great items and even though it maybe more than enough for a small family, there is no loss in dividing and freezing their meats and produce for dinner combos for later in the week or month. I digress though, I purchased some gorgeous bell peppers in a beautiful array of red, yellow, and orange. This instantly made me think of a stir fry with the flavors of charred onions and spicy ginger to awaken the pallet. To make it, I used the following (note these are things I had on hand in my fridge and pantry)

• 1.5 pounds of beef sirloin cut into strips 
• 1/2 a large white onion dice
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 6 green onions chopped in to 1 inch pieces
• 1 inch piece of ginger root finely grated\
• 2 grated carrots 
• 3 bell peppers (any color you like)
• 2 table spoons of Teriyaki sauce + a little more to taste as needed during cooking
• 2 table spoons of Olive oil
• 2 table spoons of Vegetable Oil (or Corn, canola, whatever you have at home is fine)
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Once you have prepped your meat, marinate it in the Teriyaki sauce, set aside.
Prepare your veggies, dice onion, mince garlic, grate the ginger & carrots, cut up the green onions and slice the bell peppers. Now time to turn up the heat, heat a large skillet or if you have a wok or wok pan medium high heat. Add both sets of oils be sure to coat the pan, once hot add onions and let them start to cook then add salt to help them cook down till and become translucent. This next step is optional but I like when the onions have a char, so if you want to cook them till they have a little color feel free. Next add in the green onions, garlic, and ginger stirring often then add beef. Stir to cover in oil and seasonings and let brown. Be sure to stir the beef to brown on all sides. Taste and add more sauce or salt if needed. Lastly add carrots and peppers stir the pan, cover and reduce heat. Let cook till the peppers are tender and meat is fully cooked.

Note* When I cook I try to use what I have on hand so feel free to add other vegetables you like or even try a different protein such as chicken or pork maybe even cubed Tofu. I hope you give this recipe a try, and make it your own. Enjoy!

Inspiration for Decadence Chocolate Soap

 
Why chocolate in soap?
It was a curious 2am thought that came to me after reading on the web about chocolate soap. Why not make a chocolate infused soap that looks like a dessert tart? Thus the birth of Decadence Chocolate Soap. 



All of the dessert soaps contain quality cocoa powder, and are scented with yummy fragrances like Chocolate Brownie, Butterscotch Brulée, and Chocolate Covered Cherries. 

Decadence soaps are meticulously created by hand, as a fine Chocolatier would create in a kitchen, yet these sweet treats are calorie free and a luxury for your skin. I will not claim that these soaps will have the same skin softening affects as a “spa type” chocolate skin care treatment, however infusing cocoa powder in the high quality soap bases and having delicious dessert scents accompany these adorable “tarts”, I'm certain that Decadence Chocolate Soap is a luxurious self indulgence you can use as pick me up whenever you need a “sweet treat”.

And the Oscar goes to.... Inspiration!

So, last night was the 86th Academy Awards and all the star were out. Some new, some vets and some legends in the biz. Ellen DeGeneres was the host and she kept it clean and light hearted. I think it was one of the best shows to date. While watching though there was an underline feeling of inspiration. The winners and the speeches all had that theme of "chase your dreams" "put in the work, and enjoy the rewards". Even those who did not receive awards seemed to be very humble and genuinely happy for those who did. Of course, this is speculation and base on the camera pan to those who did not grace the stage but still it's my point of view.  

 

I love how Jarred Leto's acceptance speech paid homage to how hard his mother worked to provide for him and his brother and what an inspiration she was to them. 1 He described her as a high school dropout and single mom who “somehow managed to make a better life for herself and her children,” and encouraged them to “be creative and work hard and do something special.” This I believe set the tone of the night, that and the fact that a few stars were accompanied by their mothers as their "dates".  Jarred won best supporting actor for the film "Dallas Buyers Club".

On to first time winner Lupita Nyong'o, she won for supporting actress in "12 Years a Slave". In her speech she said "It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else’s." Referring to the story of the character she portrayed in the movie. I think best inspiring quote of the night came from Steve McQueen the director (and Oscar winner) of "12 Years a Slave".. "Everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live."

Also, from the winners of best actress and best actor we hear again messages of inspiration. Cate Blanchett, while tipping a hat to each of her fellow nominees, pointed out that Dame Judi Dench (79) missed the awards due to filming a movie sequel, she mentioned how inspired she was by Judi to still be in the biz. Also, in her speech she mentioned that 2while there are still some people in the film business "who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them, and in fact, they earn money." This is so true, in a day and age where there are limited female role models on the small screen we need stories and strong women to "represent" on the big screen.

Finally, last night my man Matthew McConaughey won for best actor. I already love how down to earth he is, however he left me wondering about his speech, he thanked himself for "being someone to chase" as part of the 3 things that keep him going. First one being "Something to look up to", second "Something to look froward to". Matthew is always chasing his future self (by 10 years) it's an ideal he will never reach which keeps the drive going. Let's break this down we all have role models, people we strive to be like. But how interesting would it be if we started to strive to be the person we think we will be in 10 years. Be our own inspiration, that takes a ton of self acceptance and confidence. That to me is inspiring!
Side note I love how he thanked his dearly departed Father... Big pot of Gumbo, lemon meringue pie, underwear and beer...

Inspiration is everywhere, in stories, nature, art, music, self, it's all around us. Become inspired and be an inspiration...



1: Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/oscars/jared-leto-thanks-mother-oscar-speech-article-1.1708435#ixzz2uus8Cibi

2: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/us-oscars-bestactress-idUSBREA2208320140303