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Super short video from todays trip to the Casino.
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 Hi, Hope your summer is going well. August is my birthday month and like all good leo's I begin celebrating in July and go into September, lol! (That would be a funny story, but it is actually true, lol) One of the treats I bought for myself to celebrate was a SketchBox. (Because I clearly do not have enough monthly boxes, hahahahhah!) Oh and by the way, I really did purchase it, this isn't sponsored. The first box arrived August 1st and sadly I have not had much time to draw, but I am excited to use the supplies when things slow down. Let's look inside the box:  Front  Back I opted for the Premium Box. It is $35usd a month plus shipping. You never know what you are going to get, but looking at past boxes they included such favs as Copic Markers, Koi Watercolors, Charcoals, and other mediums I was excited to try! They theme the boxes so you can try a new medium with all the tools you will need to finish a project. They have also just recently started including a "How To" video on the website to help you learn to the use the products, which I love as well.  Inside  I love the collectable pencil tin! Inside the box:
While I love all the pencils, as you can see it wasn't much of a savings over retail. But of course the Lightfast oil based pencil set isn't on the market yet and it does seem to be incredible. I can't wait to play with them all! The Pros:
I liked the box and will enjoy using the pencils. They will complement my already large collection and I feel it was a fair price, maybe not a HUGE savings, but the items were very good quality. I'm going to give it three months to see what supplies are included before deciding to cancel or purchase a yearly subscription. What do you think? Do you subscribe to this box? Do you think it's worth the money? I hope to take some time off this week and use them all.  The sunsets are totally inspiring me to draw, paint and spend more time relaxing. Catch you later!
 Today's goal: Make time to paint (in between naps) lol It's Tuesday, I know. But it's been a long month in a long, busy year. So I'm ready for a long, lazy vacation. #TrueStory And if I can't travel right now I am hoping to at least work on the planning/details of my next MEGA adventure this week. To be honest I enjoy the planning part of travel too. I love learning about new places.  I need to review best times to travel, weather and of course VISA's restrictions for Australia. Do you have any suggestions? If so leave me a comment or email me, I love hearing from ya'll!
Catch you later~  I'm still alive! Hello! It's been awhile and I have no excuse other than I have had company almost every single day since late June! The last bunch is leaving Monday and then hopefully I can catch up on blogging. Life is really good now. I have really enjoyed visiting with everyone and exploring the area. Its great to see things through other people's eye. You, or at least I, forget how beautiful every day life can be. So truthfully we are spending most of our time outside in the garden and of course eating!  (From one ladies snapchat, lol. I'm glad they liked my vegan food. :D)  Bring on the vegan food!  OMG! These were soooo good!  And the tacos are flowing!  Meanwhile the plants are blooming..  My garden is kicking-ass!  My toad crop is really coming in nicely this year, lol!  Free range crop is not amused.   We have been chasing sunsets..(that's actually a sunrise, cause sleep is for losers)  (Sunset in progress) I'm enjoying a low key summer for a change. There are so many AMAZING travel deals right now, but I cannot get away from work yet. I'm still working almost every day, but hiring additional folks has really helped, so hopefully by next year we can return to the travel life. (Fingers crossed.)  We are in the monsoon season and it's been really nice and cool lately. Perfect weather for exploring in between rain storms.  I also have a TON of boxes and other goodies to share with you! I took lots of photos so expect to be bombarded with posts soon!  #Yum!  Newest Obsession! I really hope you are having a great summer!
I promise to put together a proper post soon, Until then-  Everyone should experience Mardi Gras at least once in NOLA. #TrueFact (And if you like it then over and over.) I didn't go this year nor the year before. My friends from New Orleans usually come to visit me. Because to be honest most of the locals leave the French Quarter during Mardi Gras and let the tourist run wild. And wild it becomes...  But it all depends on what Krewe you follow and what type of experience you are after. There are parades, parties, formal masked balls, etc. Not just drunks puking in the streets. I prefer now to only celebrate Halloween in NOLA or go for Jazz Fest. I'm thinking about a trip in early December, which is a lovely time to go as well. I went in 2013 and was ill, so it wasn't that much fun. #FML :( But if you can't go to NOLA, bring it to you! I don't decorate for Valentines Day - instead we pull out the creepy dolls and crazy stuff I have bought over the years in NOLA.  Some of the dolls and feather boas, candles, and of course beads I've collected over the years.  I also have posters, Krewe tokens and lots of other stuff, lol.  What do you think? Festive or creepy?  They will only stay out for a week or so, lol- cause they don't really go with my decor either. Decorating aside, I really want to spend one Carnival in Venice. Can you imagine?  Oh how cool would that be?  #OMG!  Happy Fat Tuesday, where ever in the world you are!
I am Valentine shopping today and I thought I’d share some of my finds with you. If you are like me, you want to get a nice, thoughtful gift for your best-y, but also don’t have time to search the entire (internet) mall for a cool gift.
I have a couple of girls that I buy for and then of course everyone in my office gets a little something. Here are a couple of thoughtful gifts I found so far:  
For my "I Want To be Healthier" friend you can't go wrong with a Ninja Professional Blender. There are a lot of different blenders out there, but if you are going to actually use it, then get a professional quality. This baby has 3 speeds, pulse, and single-serve functions. Perfect for making all those amazing vegan delights! This top shelf blender will pulverizes ice to snow in seconds making creamy frozen drinks and smoothies in mere minutes. #Win
If you really don't want to spend that much, but still want an amazing gift.. One of my close friends is just discovering the fascinating world of aroma therapy and I know she will love a diffuser.  
I like the unique and compact design of this aroma diffuser. It puts out a good mist of oil and can run up to 10 hours! Mine only runs 3 (puts an extra one of these in the cart for me!) Plus it is super quiet and has adjustable LED lights. I think Vanessa will love this one! #AnotherWin
 
I also need a housewarming gift for a co-worker and found this lovely stain-glass panel. This lovely 10 Inch Stained Glass Tiffany - "Tree of Life" Art Glass piece will be a great addition to their home and it is nicely priced at under $70.
Everyone else on the list is getting this:  
This is a set of 6 (vegan) handmade bath fizzers. The mixed flavors are, RELAXATION (Lavender), DETOX (Vanilla), ENERGIZE (Grapefruit), DESTRESS, SINUS (Peppermint), CONGESTION RELIEF (Eucalyptus). So I figure everyone else in the office will LOVE these.
Next shopping post will be for Valentine gifts for the guys! Please note that these are affiliate links and I do make a few pennies if you purchase from them. It does not change your cost and helps keep me in tofu and paint supplies. Also I would never recommend anything I didn't personally love. Catch you later-  This post is about plants, another of my obsessions. Sometime back, (I think it was September??) I went on a plant buying tangent. I love plants, but being I travel so much it's tough to keep them alive. I do have a crew of nice people that help me take care of my house/yard and animals, but.... I love many different types of plants from Orchids to Succulents so it can be a challenge for people to tend each one on it's own schedule. That's why I stopped buying plants and cleared out my greenhouse in Texas. I have had plants on my balcony in Paris, (remember shopping for plants there? Where did I put that post?) And we had way too many plants in England, all of which I left when I moved. So I have held off on buying plants here, but I gave in and started collecting again, lol. #ItsAnIllness I always gravitate towards pretty plants when I'm out shopping, as you can see from my IG posts.  Just say, "no!"  They are so hard to resit! I think it was early September. I bought a set of these plants for my bedroom, but they ended up sticking out from the wall too far and blocking my entrance into the vanity area. So one ended up in the living room. The first thing I do when I add a new plant to my collection is repot it.  I bought pots on sale at Lowe's. They are okay for now.  So anyway remember when I bought these lovely Parlor Palms?  The plants as of today.  Both plants are growing and looking pretty good.  (Spot both plants in this picture?) They take low light well, but cannot tolerate a dry soil. With almost no humidity, (Remember I now live in the desert) and also running the heating, it is very dry inside. I have to mist them daily, to keep them healthy and full. When they do dry out they tend get yellow or brown tips on the leave fronds. So they require a bit of maintenance, but they lend so much color to the house! I'm so glad I was able to get them and keep them alive. I still have minimal furniture in the house so the plants really make it more homey and warm. Meanwhile my veggie crop... I didn't grow all that much this last year. I was so disappointed that the raised beds were doused in Round Up and therefore unusable. The previous tenants didn't plant or want weeds so poison was their answer. Because of this my veggies had to go into pots on the patio.  I also ended up with one more crop of bell peppers this fall.  But when the potatoes were gone, they were gone. They were outside and we had a freak hail storm and they didn't make it.  Big Potato harvest! lol I really didn't raise the potatoes for a "crop" lol. I had a potato sprouting and thought I would just throw it in a flower pot. I chopped it up and planted the pieces. It made a lovely thick plant for my patio.  The other plants including the herbs and baby succulents are wintering well inside.  I grew this Oregano from a seed. This is the Oregano I grew from seed last spring. It needs to be separated and it will probably make enough to share with the neighbors, lol. I love having fresh herbs all year long.  The Avocado is also doing well.  (Today)  I also added more succulents to my collection this past summer.  And these joined the collection in October. #HelpMe  Some didn't make it, but most are thriving. With so many babies I started to get creative. (I also ran out of pots, lol) I planted a small fairy garden with the tiny succulents I rescued from the "dead shelf" of Lowe's. I'm not kidding when I said I was on a buying binge. #Obsession  (Last summer)  (Today) I bought the tiny mushroom houses on Ebay for less than .50 for both, lol. Because the fairy's need houses right? I think it made it look so cute and the plants do seem to be happy. I actually have plants in every room of the house now. But I have slowed down on buying since it is winter. I plan on planting more veggies next spring after I return from Canada. In the meantime I intend to enjoy the plants here.  Catch you later~
 It's hard to believe it's almost Christmas! I've got most of my shopping done and wrapped. (So I will not be tempted to give it away early, lol) and just need a few little things for stocking stuffers. My list isn't that long so it will be a breeze, fingers crossed.  We went to the Dollar Store today and looked around for those stocking stuffers.  Hmmmm...I didn't find any. I also spoke to my family in Texas today and told them I was not coming for the holidays. So Monday I will start mailing gifts to them. Well, I will mail some, Amazon will take care of the rest, thankfully. My brother called to discuss Christmas and tell me about the freak snowstorm they had this week. It usually snows in south/central Texas once every 10-15 years and turns into ice, a big mess and lots of traffic accidents! And people freak out. (See the news story here) But, fortunately this time it was just pleasant snow for about 24 hours and then was warm again. It does make it seem more like Christmas.  (Texas snow.)  We also went to the market to stock up on fruit and veggies today. I hate seeing advertsing on fruit...#PetPeeve It has been snowing here in New Mexico off and on all around us. But mostly it has just been cold, but it is winter after all. We have a short day trip to Santa Fe planed for next month, so we should have really nice snow pictures then!  So much stuff, so little actual food. SMH  Behold real food...are at least a real cookie! The bananas went into these vegan flourless cookies. I think I have finally found the holy grail of oatmeal cookies. These cookies were amazing! Let me bake one more batch and then I will post pictures and the full recipe.  I also picked these up for my son to try. He devoured them! Random-I know, but if you have a picky guest, pick up a bag. I am glad to say I will not be having any guest or be running around the country like a crazy person this year. A staycation seemed like the thing to do originally because I had so much work to do, but I actually am caught up now, thanks to an amazing new admin and extra help! #WIN! So we could go to Texas..but the more I thought about it, the more I knew sticking with the original plan was the right thing to do. I'm so excited about taking time off from work and just staying home and not having any commitments. It may sound lame, but after the busy ass year I've had it sounds like heaven to me. Okay, I'm off for my morning walk and then to work. See you at the airport!
 Add-On Love! My Fit Fab Fun Winter Box arrived today! I was surprised that the add ons also shipped with it. From what I had read on line it sometimes takes weeks for them to ship (and to not worry, they are in transit) so I was pleasantly surprised.  I will review the box fully in a day or two, but I can tell you now that I was happy with it.
Catch you later! |
AuthorWelcome to my travel blog, my healthy Vegan lifestyle blog and my life! It's a lot, but it's my passions and I just love to write about it. Here I share tips, stories and photos from my adventures and life. This is the place where people can find daily inspiration to travel and motivation to live healthier lives. I'm just an average woman in the world. Follow my journeys as I travel, shop, and meditate my way through life... 
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