Blind Pick- MINT!

Let's do another review of another perfume oil. Hmmm.....

I have so many that's it's challenging if I want to pull one from the minions for a blind pick or choose one that I have already smelled.

I do like blind picks though....okay Let's do It!

Madcap Garden by Haus of Gloi

I have a few HOG oils but am not really familiar with them. This should be interesting to see what their oils smell like.

In the vial: Mint bandaids. Is there such a thing as mint bandaids? They should start making scented bandaids. Remember I am the one that came up with the idea. Someone is going to make millions....bah!

I was totally expecting an all get out floral in this with the name and all. That's basically all I am getting too... is mint bandaids.

On the hand: Lots of mint. Nice mint. I'm probably going to have to wait for it to be on me for some time before I get any other scents . Mint does that. It's a top note scent and takes over. It also never really goes away but it does fade and allows other aspects to emerge.

I'm going to see if I can google what's in this...A lively blend of pure black tea chilled with peppermint and the tiniest spike of sweet honey. Very unisex, stimulating, addictive, and bright.

Hmm, from what I know of tea and honey, this will stay minty. I never would have guessed those two scents anyway. Good thing I looked. I could have been sitting here all night. LOL 

 

Looks like another drink I need to make.

 

 

 

Later: I didn't end up liking Madcap Garden after a while. Once the mint had tempered, the honey came out and I just don't care for that scent. I like tea only slightly better than honey so the combination of the two did me in.

Off to the swap pile.

Margaritas, Goulash and a Nightgown

I've had a mad craving for goulash lately that I had to appease. My mom made great goulash but I can't remember her recipe and since she's passed away I can't just call her. Bah! My last attempts were just not very good. So I've been perusing Pinterest,  All Recipes, and the Food Network and decided to do my own concoction. It turned out great!

This pic is while it's still cooking and the pasta hadn't absorbed most of the liquid yet. Normally I cook the pasta separately and don't remember if my mom did that or not. The pasta ends up too soft and falls apart. Talk about disasters. So this time I cooked the pasta in the sauce. I do know my mom used tomato JUICE and not sauce, and the one time I did use tomato sauce and it ended up tasting too much like spaghetti so I knew I had to go back to juice, like my mom's. I didn't use straight up Italian seasoning because I also felt that made it taste too much like spaghetti sauce, so I used basil and oregano only. I don't remember my mom using any seasoning like that. I think hers was just salt and pepper and garlic salt, but again, I don't really remember. (The dark thing in the top right of the pan is the bay leaf)


Here's my recipe:

1 1/4 lb ground chuck

3/4 large onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 large can (46 oz)  tomato juice

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

2 tsp dried oregano, placed in palm and rubbed into the sauce

2 tsp dried basil, placed in palm and rubbed into the sauce

1 bay leaf

2 tsp soy sauce

salt and black pepper to taste-quite a bit of salt though

1/2 box of beef broth

5 handfuls of elbow macaroni-not cooked (6 would be better)

First I cooked the meat until it was half cooked, then I added the onion and green pepper and cooked until no longer pink. Then I added all the other ingredients except for the beef broth and macaroni. I didn't even strain the grease off because ground chuck isn't that fatty and I also like the flavor that it gives. I let that simmer for about 2 hours while it reduced. You can tell by the picture it reduced quite a bit. Then I added the broth and let that simmer another 10 minutes. Then I added the 5 handfuls of macaroni. I had a bag of macaroni and don't know how many ounces 5  handfuls is! I just eyeballed it. I think 6 would have better but it still wasn't too runny even with the 5. I let it cook for about 20-25 minutes then served. It was really good and didn't taste like spaghetti at all. YAY! Jeff doesn't care for goulash but said it wasn't too bad. He said the green pepper needed cooked longer so I will add the green pepper with the meat at the beginning, then add the onion when halfway cooked. I'm really surprised the 2 hour simmer time didn't make the green pepper softer. I also like the onion to be visible in the dish and chop it slightly larger than a normal chop. Also make sure you salt it enough. I kept thinking it needed something until I got the salt to where it needed to be. Remember the pasta will soak up the salt from the sauce, so you need to add salt for the sauce and also the pasta.

Ava is snoring and every time I mute the TV and turn on the camera to take a video of her she wakes up. BAH!

Now for my 'Kind of Skinny Margarita'!!

Margaritas are the number one most calorific drink you can drink. And I LOVE THEM! That salt! That tang and TEKILLYA--my favorite liquor!! It's my perfect drink.

I figure one of my old margarita's probably had over 1300 calories in one drink. (I use a 1639 shaker glass - aka a 16 oz glass)

Here's how I make it now and it doesn't compromise on taste either.

First I salt the rim. I like a lot of salt, can you tell? heehee
Then I add one inch of tequila. Next I add a splash of Jero's sweetened West India Style Lime Juice (you can find it by the liquors in the store -it's a cocktail mixer), 1/2 cup of Jose Cuervo's Margarita Mix, and 3/4 cup of Diet Sunkist Lemonade pop. Then I top with ice. I leave out the Jero's sometimes, and also sometimes I use 1 cup of Diet Sunkist and 1/4 cup of margarita mix. It's the margarita mix that has all the calories. One shot of tequila has about 100 calories. Jeff says my inch of tequila is bigger than a shot so you could also just add a shot and reduce the calories too....but I LIKE the tequila. My liver doesn't but I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do!
Obviously I had to make some while posting this right? The diet Sunkist has NO calories so I have to be reducing the calories by at least 600. Instead of using 1 1/4 cups of margarita mix I am using 1/4 to 1/2, and replacing the rest with the diet Sunkist.
I've been making them this way for about 2 years and I actually like it better than with all margarita mix. The pop gives the drink some fizz and it just feels lighter in the mouth and on the gut. LOL


This 3 day weekend was so nice. Who decided on a 5 day work week anyway?? Who made that rule? I want to meet them and poke my fingers in their eyes. Boink! Boink!

I have a new bag of oils in vials. I think there's like 85 of them. Going to do a blind pick:


 Nightgown by Solstice Scents:

 Deep red in color. Cool.
 In the vial: definitely a floral. Feminine and light. Smoky. I can't tell what's in this at all.

On the hand: Red velvet and smoke. A mysterious sultry flower. This is some sexy stuff! Makes me think it's something Sofia Vergara would wear. Womanly bold yet soft and tauntingly alluring.

What's in this? NIGHTGOWN

Vanilla, White Chocolate, Tuberose & Tiare Flowers

Shake this perfume gently before use.  A sensual and very creamy floral fragrance, Nightgown evokes the image of a gorgeous satin nightie with lace trim. It fits like a second skin and is the perfect attire for lounging and snuggling. This perfume is the representation of the fabric itself: beautiful, plush, sweet and delicate with white velvety petals from exotic flowers that entrance you with aphrodisiac qualities. The floral notes are very creamy, well rounded and tame while still being detectable and not too heady, sharp or perfumey. The dominant notes are a vanilla accord blended with a touch of divine white chocolate. The floral notes are present on initial application and for some time on the skin though on the long term dry down they will recede and the vanillas and white chocolate will be predominant. If you like the vanilla accord in Manor and Snowshoe Pass, it makes a striking appearance in this blend! Nightgown is wispy, innocent and mysterious at once - like feathers and a gently strummed harp.
Wow, I didn't do too bad! I think the smoke aspect I got is the chocolate. I did get the florals in the vial, then on the skin it was wispy yet at the same time demanding to be noticed. A perfect blend of both soft and strong. A keeper!!

Conjure Oils-Queen Elizabeth Root

What the heck is the 'root' for? Hmmm


This came in a nice 5ml bottle. It has a diffuser cap and the cap has some pink in it. Yep the oil is pink. Cool. It's super florally. Like crazy pa pa pa pow! floral. Violets or gardenia--something super sweet. There's a little something (<<I wanted to spell that sumpin but didn't want you to think I was odd or precocious)  odd about it. There's an odd floral in it.
I have a ghost entry. Yeah. Here on Blogger, I have a saved post, then there is another draft that isn't anything I am writing. I've read it. Blank. It has the same entry title. OOOOooooo...
I need a tropical home with an office.
I decided that.

Isn't Blue October hellish?


Three hours later QER has become a skin scent, slightly flowery, musky,........How long will I be picking up my pieces? It melted into my skin and came out with this subtle, calm, floral....sweet, reminiscent  scent.
Truthfully the scent has an odd component about it. Not necessarily a bad one.

 What's in this: Queen Elizabeth Root
the queen mother of all roots used to attract a man. It doesn't get much better than this for use as a love and romance drawing oil. Use it to anoint your Queen Elizabeth root or your offertory candles. Heck, maybe a dab behind the ears before going out for the night may do wonders. Our Queen Elizabeth Root contains genuine root chips in a base of orris infused oil.

 It kinda stinks at first. But then turns smooth and nice...

 

Amazing!! (started on Friday the 13th! and ended on Wednesday the 18th)

Today we had 6 ducks in the pool about 8:15 this morning. Five males and a female. Maybe the Mike and Molly that have been showing up have all been different ducks!! NO WAY! They flew off before Jeff could take a pic or video. My back was out. Bah!

I am making Hot Mexican Pork Chops, Frijoles, and Mexican Rice. The Hot Mexican Pork Chops are center cut chops cooked in tomato sauce with garlic and red pepper flakes. They are cooked for over 6 hours so the fall off the bones and are oh so tender. The Frijoles are small red beans cooked with garlic, onion and Mexican oregano. The Mexican Rice is cooked with garlic, onion, tomato sauce, adobe sauce with peppers, diced tomato, green peppers and cumin. Also making homemade tortillas Don't know if they will turn out or not but I have some store bought in the fridge in case. The homemade are 'resting' right now, before I roll them out and cook them on a cast iron skillet.

I received some new oils in the mail.



Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab: Diwali LE Yuletide 2007.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab: 413 U.S. 15 Miller VS. California.

Love Potion Magickal Perfumerie, PE C&J's a Treacle Trollop w P.83.

Cremoso: Marchpane & Petals.

Cremoso: Pillowmallow Mint.

Conjure Oils: Talker.

Conjure Oils: Blue Fire.

Conjure Oils: Queen Elizabeth Root.


*12 Love Potion Magickal Perfumerie vials

Oidhche Shamhna

Sugared Roses

Allegro

Fest of Fools

Le Somneil Des Anges

Tropical Temptations

Turkish Delight

Wax Poetic

Heart of Fire

Lava Rain

Anti Piggy

Sinister Pink

Happy Water

Tamashii no Tomo

Alien Cake

Get Stuffed!

Nectar Du Printemps

Spring Equinox 2009

Sugared Hazelnut

Holly-Lu-Ya

fayha*fayha



I LOVE Love Potion perfumes, so when ever I can get my hands on some I grab them.

Alien Cake sounds interesting, gonna review that:

Clear in color.

In the vial: Cake.
I need to put it on my hand to bring it out.
Cake with spices, sweetness, icing, nothing 'alien' here. I do like it. I was expecting a twist of something weird and it just doesn't have it. At least not yet....This would be good for a young girl, like sixteen.
Here's what Love Potion's website says:It's a mystery! Long buried potions, just recently discovered hiding in our studio. (I don't have an ingredient list because I didn't brew them, but will attempt to describe them as best I can!)  Alien Cake is a strangely cakey concoction, smells as if it has a carrot cake base. If you get one, let me know what YOU think is in here! Customers who have purchased it thus far describe it as carrot cake with a lemony cream cheese frosting and find it quite yummy!

Yep I got the carrot cake hint also, that's why I put 'spices'. It is turning less sweet the longer I wear it. The lemon is coming out. This is a keeper.

New Orleans May 2014

I've been trying to get the gumption to post our Memphis-New Orleans trip. I didn't take near as many pictures this year.

Do you hear the Man say : Do you take the same picture every year?

Do you notice I ignore him?

Yes! I do! I love coming over the bridge into Memphis. Kiss my grits!

We've never taken a carriage ride in Memphis. Don't plan to either. LOL But they are prettier than the ones in New Orleans. The Memphis carriages are usually lit up with electric lights or decked out with flowers. I've noticed that all the New Orleans carriage rides are pulled by mules any more. It never used to be that way. Mules must be sturdier and able to handle the heat better is my guess. Memphis still has some horses. I like that better.


Below is in New Orleans. Again at Margaritaville the first night we're there. It's a tradition and yes the food is still mediocre. LOL

I got the jerk chicken this time: 

 Boneless chicken breasts marinated in authentic jerk spices and roasted island style. Served with seasonal vegetables and island rice. It wasn't too bad. I'd probably not get it again. LOL Jeff had the cheeseburger again. He's so versatile. pfffft

 

Above is a building that's being fixed up across the street. We took the picture so we can compare it to the next time we go. Probably Nov 2015. No more May weather for me. Too hot. It was 85 every day with not too bad of humidity (64-75%), but it's just not pleasant to walk around in that. The heat there is different than even humid Iowa's. And we get HOT here too. Really, really hot and humid in the summer. But I'm not walking around in it. Just in and out of work or a store. So we plan to go now later in the year since Jeff can't get off work earlier than May with his new job. It's going to a year and a half before we go back.....sniffle.

 

 

We found the Walmart in NO! (We also have a tradition to find the Walmarts in every town we visit-LOL)

I guess this is what Walmart employees in NO do for fun. I felt like a freak even taking the pic.

 

 

Lush!!! It was OPEN!! I spent about 150.00 there.

Above was a gate to a home across the street from our hotel. Homeowners add things to their gate to make it difficult for thieves to climb over. Isn't this just beautiful? Here's a bench from the same home.

We met the homeowner. We were on our balcony and he came out and started down the street with two dogs. One dog was a small young bulldog that was loose, snorting and wiggling all over,  and the other was like a terrier on a leash. They walked below us and into a parking lot and disappeared around a corner. About a minute later, this black and white cat came down the street, looked around the corner then followed them.
After a bit they came back and the cat was with them. I yelled to him asking if the cat was his. It was! He said all three were rescues and the cat always follows them! I asked their names and the male cat was named Babycake (LOL!), the terrier was named Belle and the bulldog was Monster. I told him I got a kick out of all of them, especially the cat, how it sleuthed to follow them. I remember their names because I call Stark my Babycake, our cat Mojo's full name is Mojo Howitz the Stinky Spider Cat Monster Eater, and we almost named Ava Belle. How ironic is that! The house he lives in assesses at like 1.2 million. WOWSA!! Here's the view from our balcony. OH!! We got the Honeymoon Suite again! (see last year's post) I had asked for it but they can never guarantee it.

We took the Jeep out and toured the garden district. Below are pics of houses I took while driving down the road.

Not too bad of a job considering we were going 35 miles an hour. LOL

Now doesn't this place look like fun! I told Jeff that next time we will have to stop here.

 

 

 

Below is Jackson Square. 

 

 

 

 

Below is Johnny White's Hole in the Wall again.  We always seem to get some unusual shots here. Probably because it's on BOURBON! LOL Yeah, you need to click on the pic below to get the full effect......She was carrying a bucket that said 'Pics for Tips'. 

The sunset was in Iowa--our last leg of the trip. It was much better in person.

 

 

Now I will attach some vids I took.

 

 

Above was sky-writing plane. We saw it from far away and just watched him do loops etc over the freeway as we got closer. It was cool to watch. It was south of St Louis in Missouri. Excuse the wind, I didn't realize it would be annoying.

 

 

I don't know why I always have to say stupid shit when I take videos. LOL

 

 Above is a carriage ride in New Orleans from Margaritaville's balcony.

 

 

Above is the view from our balcony. The house with the figurines on the fence and the bench is at the beginning on the corner. The parking lot where the dude disappeared with the two dogs named Belle and Monster is at the end. It's so enjoyable to be sitting up there in the early morning drinking coffee and listening to the trains and boats go by. Also at night, drinking some beers, and watching all the people stroll by.

 

 

Above is a HUGE ship on the Mississippi, we can see them from the room. I messed up and focused on the top of a building thinking it was the ship, but you can kind of get the size of it anyway in the beginning of the video.

Above was the Krewe of Cork -carnival walking parade. There was some wine fest going on. I was laughing because the woman had just tossed my husband some beads! It was a Krewe of Cork necklace. I still have it!

 

Above is Jackson Square. It's so pretty. There's all kinds of artists showing their wares and you can meander among all the painted pictures and murals. I found one that really spoke to me and would have looked hellish in our living room. It was an all jewel tone colors oil painting of New Orleans. It was magnificent. It was also $3,600.00. I can never justify that for a painting. Yeah, I'm cheap.

 

Above is an irritating band that meanders through the Quarter. They can't play worth shit and are really loud. We were in Johnnie's at the time. They had the cops called on them and the cops brought the city guy that rates the sound level. They had to move because they rated well over what is accepted. Yay, it was horrible. We couldn't even hear ourselves talk.

Johnny White's Hole in the Wall is our number one fave bar in NO. It's at the end of Bourbon where you turn around and head back toward Canal at 718 Bourbon. The original Johnny White's is still at 733 St. Peter and they stayed open during Katrina! They never close.

 

Well, that's it. More next year!!

We (written on May 25th, posted on June 10th)

picked our dogs up from the kennel today. They'd been there 9 days. We actually stayed in New Orleans a day longer than normal and on a Friday too. We usually leave on a Friday morning. They freak out when we show up to get them. It's funny, embarrassing, and a cluster fuck. Stark's screaming at the top of his lungs and flying all over the place like a crazed animal. Ava's whining, moaning and shaking. They both lose weight when they are there and it pisses me off that we get them fat again.
Mojo, the cat, was basically traumatized not having anything or anyone home. He screamed the first hour we were home. He'd watch me walk down the hall into the pantry to put something away (30 seconds) and then start bellowing. I'd look around the corner at him and say, "Really?"

We have a wild mallard male duck living in our pool. We haven't taken the cover off yet. I don't know if he showed up while we were gone but we didn't notice him until today when we started grilling out.

 

 

 

I'm starting to thing he marked his territory while we were gone. When we first saw him tonight, I fed him some bread then he flew away. I jokingly said it'd be crazy if he came back.

 

He did.

 

 

He's out there swimming around and it's midnight.

 

I look out the back door and can see him.

 



 

 

The two vids are earlier in the night.

 



 

 

 

Our animals are wore out. Literally.

This is even before the dogs come home. ^^^^^^



New Orleans. Is that a trip or what?

Wake up.
Primp.
Leave hotel.
Eat.
Drink (me).
Crash in room.
Nap.
Primp.
Eat.
Drink.
Crash.

 

I have a freaking wild duck living in my pool!!



I've been googling what to feed ducks.


I'm so tired and worn out from New Orleans that I could drop on the carpet and fall asleep.

 

 

 

 



Quack Quack Duck Duck

We have mallard ducks (guy and gal) using our pool as a vacation spot. We've lived here since 1997 and have never had a duck pair use our pool as a bathing sauna......

I've named them Mike and Molly. Not only because I love Melissa McCarthy but I have a brother named mike....plus....and get this.... my bestest friend forever had a dawg named Molly. It's foretold.

Mike and Molly have been here every day since we got back from vacation. Some days Mike shows up first and other days Molly does. They seem to be playing pool tag.

They're out there now. They don't even mind us humans or even the dogs. I'm feeding them which is probably so illegal. They'll leave someday. And they are NOT nesting in our yard. Not only would we not allow it but our dogs wouldn't either.

I swear we are their 'vacation' spot. It's a place to come to relax, get fed, swim, preen and clean the bodies. Molly really cleans her body when she is here. She flips not only the water around but her feathers. I have a video. It's not of her bathing, but squacking.