Blind pick....reaching into an ammo box blindly and hoping it's a good one!! Kind of like buying a $5.00 ticket at a carnival to pick a yellow duck out of a sea of ducks...praying the number on the bottom is a WINNAH!! Then realizing all you won was an 89 cent bottle of bubbles.
Nefertiti
Golden in color. Wow, this reminds me a lot of that last one I reviewed, Dove's Heart. Super florally, although this has different flowers. This isn't as cloying . Reminds me of sunflowers and I don't even think sunflowers have a smell. I do think there are violets here. bwahahahhahaa we'll see... LOL If there are any grounding scents in this like musk or patchouli etc I am not really smelling them. But this ISN'T all floral, there is something in this giving it a deep base scent. Very feminine and sweet almost, yet it's a spicy sweet. Who was Nefertiti?
Wiki: Nefertiti (ca. 1370 BC – ca. 1330 BC) was the Great Royal Wife (chief consort) of the EgyptianPharaohAkhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten, or the sun disc.
No wonder this smelly sunny. Let's see what's in this. “The Beautiful One Is Come”. Egyptian iris and olibanum with red and white sandalwood, soft myrrh and a breath of North African herbs.
Ahhh! frankincense, that's what's grounding it. That and the sandalwood are very light in this. This is mostly the iris and herbs. As it dries the sandalwood's emerging stronger. I like this but it's not a big bottle winner. I think the floral is a little too heavy for me.. at this point anyway. Maybe in a couple hours that will have faded.
I am making sesame lo mein for lunch today. I buy these authentic lo mein noodles from an Asian grocery store. They are frozen and taste just like restaurants' noodles. I will be adding celery, green pepper, carrot, scallions, sno peas, yellow onion, and jalapeno peppers. Not sure if I will use a meat or shrimp. Really doesn't need it.
Decided to add chicken breast.
Nefertiti is getting better.........................
Later: used chicken thigh instead.
Above: the seasonings/sauces I used, plus peanut oil and chicken granules.
Above: I added fresh minced garlic and red pepper flakes to the chicken. I also salted it with pink Himalayan salt and just a tad of black pepper.
I cooked the chicken in a non-stick skillet because it tends to stick to the wok.
Carrots first, stir fried a bit -to al dente.
Added the chicken and cooked for a minute or so.
Then I added the noodles and green veggies. Cooked for another minute. I want the veggies still fresh and hard.
Then I added the oyster flavored sauce plopped in, 5 dashes of fish sauce, 2 swirls (about a tablespoon) of Kikkoman soy sauce (the ONLY soy I will use). I don't measure, that's why it's hard to write my recipes down.
Stirred, then added a big pinch of Wyler's chicken granules. Then the sesame oil. I like a lot of sesame so about 1 tablespoon?
Done!
This was the best lo mein I'd ever made too! I have some leftovers in the fridge. I LOVE Chinese food cold. I'll be eating that later on tonight!!
Nefertiti has faded quite a bit. Now it smells floral with some pepper in it. Considering how flagrant this was to begin with, it's just about gone from my skin. I didn't wash the back of my hand while I was cooking either. This is a nice spicy skin scent.
and I am using the laptop!! I know...lame, but this is great! Sittin' on my couch as I type!
Hmm, won't be able to post any pics since they are on my PC. Still sad that Marly died. I have his pic as my wallpaper at home and work.
Time for a blind pick bpal review. (today I wore Lick It Softly) LOVE IT!
Dove's Heart
Gold in color. (I like typing on this laptop better than the PC-I like the little clicks it makes when I press a key too)
In the vial it's very strong. Super duper floral with a musk I think. There's also a greeness, or possibly a moldiness to it. Roses? Maybe lavender? Old lady perfume is what it reminds me of. Not sure I like it. Would be good in bath water because it's too strong to wear I think it'd be overpowering and make me sick.
A gentle, healing love blend, often used to help mend a broken heart. Brings peace of mind, soothes the sting of loss, and aids in finding closure.
Hmm, there's lots of different interpretations. Some say lavender, some say violets, some say green, some say jasmine (I guessed rose again and it's probably violets!! bwahahahahaha--long standing joke) Some think of their mother or grandparents. I am liking it the longer it's on me. It's a keeper!
Yep, looks to be today or tomorrow. He's getting restless. I know some don't agree but I let my cats die at home naturally. The first one that went that way, we weren't really expecting it and it was too late at night when I realized she was going to pass. It was the most peaceful passing. Then the one after that we took to the Vet to be euthanized and he tried getting a needle in her arm for several minutes with no luck. She was too skinny and he couldn't find a vein. The whole time me and Jeff were holding her while she struggled and screamed. Finally the Vet says I will just do it in her neck and he grabbed her and took her to the back room without us. So she died without us. Talk about a harrowing ordeal. Never again. Since then we've allowed 4 other cats to die naturally at home and it was so much better. They are restless for a few hours then just lay down and don't wake up. They are still alive for a few hours but they don't move. I hold them and cry and tell them I love them the whole time.
I got Marly when he was a baby and lived in the alley behind our apartment building. He was a litter of 4 and was the only one that wasn't afraid of me. I'd go to the alley and get a stick and scratch it along the ground to get him to chase it. He's been my buddy for 17 years. He had a curled tail. I wish I would have bred him now. He was/is the sweetest cat and was always sweet to new cats I brought home. All the cats love him.
The blinds are jacked in the picture above because he'd squeeze his head thru the slats to see outside. Eventually the blinds would break and cause a square hole. We go thru a lot of blinds around here.
He'd find the weirdest places to sleep.
I'll miss you Marly. Forever.
Marly went to the rainbow bridge at
10:12 am June 23, 2013
Just this side of heaven is
a place called Rainbow Bridge.When an animal dies that has been especially close
to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills
for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is
plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and
comfortable.
All the animals who had been
ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are
made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and
times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing;
they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.They all run and play together, but the day comes
when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent.
His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over
the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your
special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be
parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the
beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long
gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Okay, I am well enuf to post. This is gonna be a long drawn out post so it may take a couple days to finish. hehe
CLICK ON ANY PIC TO ENLARGE IT-IT WILL ALSO MAKE IT HAVE BETTER DETAIL
Left Des Moines for Memphis at 5:30 am May 26th. My younger/little brother Doug's 49th birthday!!! He's the one that had squamous cell cancer of the throat. Same thing Michael Douglas had. Self inflicted 95% of the time with cigarette smoking and drinking liquor. Don't let anyone tell you any different, even MD. Doug is 4 years cancer free and going strong! I love my little brother a lot.
Got to Memphis at 3:50 PM and went to check in. Room wasn't clean yet. WTF!? No problem, hit the bar within the hotel for half an hour and mellowed out.
Paul McCartney was singing at the FedEx Forum. There were Australians and English people in the bar and we had fun conversations with them for that 1/2 hour. That's some hard core devotion to travel overseas and have three layovers to get to the US just to see Sir Paul. Crazy is what I'd call it. But that's just me. I don't fly. LOL
Again we ate at the King's Palace. Pretty good food, I must say.
Here's going over the Missouri about 5 hrs from home, heading to Memphis.
Here's heading right into the city of Memphis. I always watch people on youtube that post stupid videos like this and I think they sound stupid
well we do too
fuck
Lame
as all getout
I'm saying, "There's Memphis." "There's Memphis...." Jeff says, "There's a riverboat." "Riverboat." "Riverboat." Me. "Another boat," he says. "Goin' over a bridge," I mumble. Then I say, " I kinda feel like I'm filming the Blair Witch................................................... movie." and Jeff says, "The Lori Witch Project." I giggle (a lot--------------so unseemly), then say, "Too jumpy." Meaning it's too shaky to film. You'd think I was drunk..but I wasn't!!!
Gorgeous city. Yeah!
We took our red 2011 Wrangler. Perfect amount of space for one very large suitcase, one medium suitcase, one cooler on wheels, a duffel bag and makeup case.
Here's Beale Street. Home of the Big Ass Beers.
I kept forgetting to take pics. We went to our fave bar, attached to the King's Palace. The Keg Room. They have this awesome grand magnificent painting of a naked woman hanging high up on the wall behind the bar.
Cool men playing pool. Okay one is not too cool........Just drunk. I think he is the town drunk. But not plausible. This is not a town...it's a city. There's lots of bar drunks.
"HOME OF THE BIG ASS BEER!"
At the end that's Jeff's voice telling me to Stop! You can hear me saying, "I will". Stop! He had that 'serious voice'. But it's some good video, isn't it? He's even watching over my shoulder as I uploaded this.
Pretty good song playing. Drunk Man won. The normal guy kept scratching on the 8 ball. All three GAMES! Bwahahahahahahaha!! Now that's funny. I was saying I needed to protect myself because I was sure that cue ball was coming at my head!!! LOL
Not done yet. BBL.
OKay, I'm back. We are at King's Palace again....like usual. But the food's good and we like the atmosphere with the big black guy playing the guitar and singing the blues while we eat. He's pretty good. I even bought one of his cds a couple years back.
Menu^^^^^ use the scroll bar on the side to see it all.
I kept forgetting to take pics of the food so here's one after we were almost done. LOL
This was Jeff's food. Yes the Rolex is real. :) I had gumbo but the pics are too dark. Ahhh, I'll post them anyway....They have the best gumbo I've ever ate, and I've had a lot.
And this pic is too BRIGHT!!! Bah! It's my Mardi Gras Pasta. It was sublime.
This is what the freeway looks like most of the way between Memphis and New Orleans, lined with trees. LOTS of bugs committed suicide just to be in this shot. So this is their 15 minutes of fame. Everyone give a little clap for the SuicideBugs please. Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap
Have to go out to eat with the in-laws....BBL.
Back!
Like I said, the freeway is lined with trees just about the whole way. It's really pretty and you'd think it'd be boring but it's not.
Then about 30-45 minutes outside New Orleans we start driving on bridges. The whole way into NO we're on a bridge. Here's the beginning of the bridge!! It makes my heart just skip a beat because I know we're almost there!!! And traveling on the bridge is fun and we can see the houses along the swamps. No cars!, just boats, is how they get around.
I'm just going to post a bunch of pics now.....I always look for gaters but I never see any.
Once we get past all the swamp areas, we travel over some of Lake Pontchartrain.
Now to get the real concept of this lake..... it has a 26 mile bridge that goes over it (not the one we're on). When you are in the middle of that 26 mile bridge you can't see land anywhere. Imagine that. Jeff keeps trying to talk me into going over that bridge but so far I've won out with my resounding NO! I have a slight problem with man made objects like planes and bridges. Although I think I could take a cruise with no problem. Just not a Carnival Cruise. hehe
We finally get to the last leg into the city!!
OMG!!!! (click the pic!) A red corvette----what a greeting into the greatest city of all time!! LOL (OKay okay maybe no one gets the thrill of this..but me..LOL)
It only takes a few minutes to get to the Le Richelieu hotel. We check in and get our key. They still use the old fashioned actual big brass keys. We got room 314. So we park the Jeep in their parking lot and grab some bags. It'll take three trips before we're done. I take a LOT. ROFLMAO
We get to our room and OMG we got the honeymoon suite! NO this wasn't planned or booked, it's just what we were given. And truly, the only thing different about this room compared to their other suites is that it had a canopy bed. But this being our 25th wedding anniversary this year it was really kind of ironic and special!
Their rooms are dated but super clean and we had 5 rooms! Yeah! FIVE! For 180.00 a night. We had a full kitchen with full sized fridge, a huge bathroom, walk-in closet, living room and king sized bedroom. We even had our own balcony! We were also on the end/corner so we had windows on the east side and north side. Quite nice.
Kitchen. Fridge is to the right of me. To the left is a disabled stove and stovetop, and upper cabinets. Below is a view to the living room taken from next to the kitchen.
The bathroom is huge! And has a veeeeery long countertop for all my junk!
THE BALCONY! I seriously couldn't get on it the first day we were there. Once I had some magaritas and Bud Lite into me, I was fine. I even Pulled the kitchen chair out and sat there all 4 nights. I tried to pull one of these upholstered chairs and I got one on it, but Jeff's wouldn't fit. Like I didn't know. <smirk> No confessions here tonight. LOL
They definitely need a bigger TV!!!
I LOVE that there is a bathtub. I know, gross, but I do take a bath in them. I scrub them real good (even though you can tell this one has been cleaned super good) because I hit the LUSH store on Decatur!
BUT.
GUESS.
WHAT?
Lush was fucking closed! No shit! I would have known that if I would have checked their facebook page. BAH! I was bummed. So no baths for me this trip. <sniffle>
We did hit the St Louis Lush on the way home and I spent 276.00. hehe
Here's my haul!!!!!!
One yellow Fun
One pink Fun
Sexy peel soap
Demon in the dark soap
Lust soap
One Madame Bubble stick
One Mum bubble stick
One Mum Tulip bubble stick
One Blue Skies bubble bar
Two Twilight bath bombs
One Rub Rub Rub shower scrub
Four Rose Jam bubbleroons (a fave, can u tell?)
One Luster glitter powder
Three Blackberry bath bombs
One Fizzbanger bath bomb
One Phoenix Rising bath bomb
One Space Girl bath bomb
One Yuzu & Cocoa bubbleroon
One Sex Bomb bath bomb
One Comforter bubble bar
Two Dorothy bubble bars
One Enchanter bath bomb
One Avobath bath bomb
One Dragon's Egg bath bomb
One Lust solid perfume
Jeff said I could spend 500.00 and at one point I thought I was done and was only at 185.00 and so I went back and got more. LOL Today I used the Twilight bath bomb and it makes the water so soft and it took a long time to melt too! I was pleased with it. It started out pink and foamy and eventually it got to a blue inside that melted even faster than the pink outside. It had a nice fragrance too. I will get more of these someday.
OKay, back to New Orleans. I don't know why but the last few trips we've ate at Margaritaville the first night we get there. We always ask for the balcony because it's really refreshing after the 6 hour drive from Memphis. Their food is good, mostly mediocre and nothing to write home about, but we like it anyway. Jeff ordered fried pickles which were really good! They had a Cajun sauce for dipping.
He also got a hamburger and I got a chicken salad. He said they had good fries.
My salad had mangoes and pecans in it. It was good, just okay...like I said nothing to write home about. In New Orleans you have to have at least good food or you'll never make it. There was a street performer begging for money below us. What's new. He wasn't a bad singer just couldn't get to the second verse. LOL he was funny and had personality though. He reminded me of Chris Rock.
Looks like a grumpy ass son of a bitch doesn't he? He is! LOL Well okay maybe 20% of the time....40%??? LOL
We ended up giving the singing man $5.00. At least he entertained us. Kinda like this guy:
We were walking down Royal and all I see is this fake dog in the middle of the road. I knew it was probably an act and I said, "OMG is he using one of those fake dogs!!??" He was talking to people as we walked down the street. He only posed like this when he saw I was taking a picture. So we gave him five bucks too. LOL We started down the street and about a half of a block later we heard this scream! Some lady (new to New Orleans) was walking by him thinking he wasn't real and he moved and scared the crap out of her. All the people on the street were laughing. Great time! I loved hearing all those people laugh. You could hear her talking to him saying. " I didn't think you were real!!" LOL
Be back later to post more....................
We always hit this local grocery where I buy tasso (smoked ham--these are turkey since I already have ham from the last trip) and andouille sausage.
It keeps well for a max of 2 yrs in the freezer. I place them in freezer zip lock bags for extra protection.
I make jambalaya, gumbo, and red beans and rice. My red beans and rice is very good. It's on my Allrecipes.
The second day we hit the French Market, and wandered the Quarter. I love the shopping. I found this bohemian type shop and bought some really cool stuff. $150.00 later I had two skirts, some brass knickknacks, a brass water bong (I think it's for hash) and a stone covered book to write in. Yeah, the covers of the book are like made of stone or a heavy resin made to look like stone. It has blank pages within, so it can be a diary or poem book. The red day of the dead wobble head doll was from another shop. The small little blue topped jar has solid amber perfume in it! Smells really good too. I love amber.
Front of the book is a fairy, the back is a rose. It's heavy!
The butterfly is from the Jamie Hayes Gallery. It's such a neat shop!! Jamie was actually there this time. He is an interesting person. I always find something to buy there.
I also got three more spoon rests. Now I have 5. Yeah.....I'm a little compulsive obsessive.
This is a metal puffer fish I just had to have! I have a 'thing' for these puffer fish, I have a couple small ones in my kitchen from the Jamie Hayes Gallery that I bought a couple years back. This big one is from a metal shop around the corner from our hotel. I bought a huge metal sun from them last year that I have outside. The sun is like 3 feet across and so cool. Next to the fish is the 5 sheet sets I bought from the French Market. We have a king sized bed and I got all 5 for 135.00. I haggled him down from $35.00 per set. LOL What a steal. They say they are 1800 thread count but we all know that's a crock of shit and I told him that. LOL But they are really soft and fit our deep mattress and they wash up well. I bought one set about 5 years ago for 30.00 and loved them so the next year I found them for $20.00 per set and bought 4. Letting the dawgs in our bed ruins sheets faster so I buy cheap!!
Now I have it on the top of my hutch in the living room. It matches perfectly with the green and yellow. Even Jeff looked at it the other day and says, "That fish IS kind of cool, isn't it?" !!!! He's not a big compliment giver because 1. He really doesn't give a shit what I buy and 2. He really doesn't give a shit about what I buy! LOL Thankfully he lets me decorate any way I like. That's why we have a Mexican/Cajun themed sun filled kitchen, a Jimmy Buffett bedroom, a red, pink and animal print bathroom, and a bohemian/gypsy peacock living room!!! bwahahahahahaha My house is a rainbow!!!
The fireworks are for our friends who watched the cats and house. They are going to love them!!
There was also a woman that painted bottles and added pourers on them so they can be used for oil, vinegar etc. I bought two of those for my kitchen.
I have them in my windows. OH! You can see the puffer fishes hanging there!
This one opens up like a locket.
This blue one below is from Jamie Hayes. The second one I bought from there I gave to my bestie.
Another company that I like for their bath items is Senica naturals. I first found her (Benardett) at the French Market about 6 years ago. She showed me her products and I bought her Sweetness brown sugar scrub, Sweetness shea moisturizer and Bay Bay bath salts. It was when she first went to the name of Senica because it was Nica Naturals as you can see by two of the jars in this photo. I haven't found her at the Market since so on her facebook page I found a co-op that sold her items and we drove there while in new Orleans. I bought Bay Bay shea moisturizer, Bay Bay brown sugar scrub, some more Sweetness shea and more Bay Bay bath salts. LOVE THIS STUFF. Best smelling and the most awesome shea moisturizer ever and I'm not a big lotion type person....but I love spreading this stuff all over my body after a Lush Bath.
Cindy Woo has officially DUMPED the recliner as a sleep choice! I think it's too hot. But now she has decided to sleep on the computer desk all the time.
Fickle little freak.
Here's a couple pics of pretty balconies in the French Quarter. Walking around this is all you see, huge plants, gorgeous architecture, people and shops.
Above is sitting in Johnny's The Hole in the Wall bar. Our favorite dive. This was going on outside. This is what NO is all about, a band walking around the FQ playing spurts of music, then moving on to another location.
Still not done posting yet. BBL
Bah, been a bit, eh??
Here's another restaurant we ate at. It's been there for years but it was our first time. It was so good! Now I forget the name! Bah!
6-29-13 It's the Pere Antoine!! I enlarged a pic and got the name from a menu on a table. Ingenious aint I????!!
I asked the nice fun dude that was wandering around what was their best dish and he said the Catfish Antoine so that's what I got. It was heavenly. One of the best dishes I've ever had in New Orleans. Jeff got 'The Ribeye" (he's not much of a risk taker and tends to order what he knows. No sense of adventure!!!) It was superb also. This will be a restaurant that we go to every time we're in NO and we both wish we'd found it many years ago.
There was a couple outside that had just gotten married!!
Here's some more random pics of New Orleans.
Sitting on the Riverwalk. It was breezy and about 85 degrees. Very nice outside. We sat there for almost an hour just soaking it all in!
In line for Acme House!!
Chargrilled oysters!!! We also had some raw. Jeff wouldn't touch oysters for years. Then I heard about these at Acme. We'd been to NO about 5 times and had seen Acme but had never stopped. Usually we'd eat at Felix's or Desire. But I'd heard about Acme's chargrilled oysters and decided to try some. I made him eat one because they were sooooooooooooo freaking good and he was hooked. Now we stop there every single time we're in NO. The oysters this time were HUGE!!! They have garlic, parmesan cheese and butter on them. Once the oyster is ate there is a delectable butter sauce in the shell that you soak up with the bread. MMMMMM mmmmm good!
Above: a penthouse on top of a building while waiting in Acme's line. I was also feeding the pidgeons.
We ate at Coop's Place...another of our favorite dives. Great Cajun food.
There's Brooklyn Joe tucked into the corner with his ball cap on. We bought him a drink. He has no idea who we are even though we've spoke to him 4 or 5 times over the last 10 years. ROFL He recommended the book 'A Confederacy of Dunces' to me many years ago. Hellish book!!
Then we went back to Johnnie Whites!! There was a dude dressed like a woman that I got a pic of. The second pic I took with just my hand around the wall and when I got home and uploaded my pics he was giving me the finger!! bwahahahahahahahahaha!! I got the biggest kick out of that and laughed out loud!! Most of them want money for pics. Effin' beggars...LOL
The last day we just drove around. Had never been to the ritzy side of town before....
The cemeteries are above ground because the city is below sea level......
This was back in our neighborhood heading back to the hotel....on Esplanade.
This is a storm right before St Louis on the way home. I kept watching this cloud because I knew either a tornado had just gone back up....or was in the process of coming down. It's was huge and scary!!! later after we reached home we did hear that a tornado had touched down right before we got to this spot and to the north. We were heading north...and I know this was that tornado!! It was round! I was taking a pic from the passenger side through the driver's window. This cloud was round in shape!
