Go Roomba Go!

If you haven't seen one yet, IRobot makes a self propelled vacuum that roams around the house sucking up dust and dander by itself so you can get other things done. Unfortunately, I find myself cheering my vacuum on as it glides through the house and following it around in amazement. Its a great purchase but sometimes it does need maintenance and you need to take it apart and clean the inside. (PS..Don't try to use it on shag carpet). It's great for everyday cleaning, I would not say DEEP cleaning. Check it out for yourself! And Hey...even the cat LOVES it!

77% Off Pocket Mirrors....WHOA!

Incredible sale on pocket mirrors!!! Have a great weekend!

Slice 'em and Dice 'em...oooppssss

Infomercial mishaps that always makes me laugh!

Dammit!

Mom always told me that even at age two and three I would waddle around the house shouting dammit, dammit. Of course she has "no idea" where I got the affinity for the word, but it has stayed with me ever since. I'm not much of a curser, depends on the company I am in I suppose, but a trail of those bad words sure come flying out when I stub a toe or bang my not so funny bone. Apparently, that's ok...and therapeutic...read on my friends, read on!

http://www.thestar.com/article/665032

AYAYAYAY....SANGRIA

This is a repost,but an amazing recipe! Have fun and enjoy!

SUMMER + SANGRIA = FIESTA FUN
Enjoy this fabulous recipe...on me. It comes straight from our SANGRIA BOOK. This is a great gift this summer.

Combine 2 sliced lemons, 2 peaches, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, 3 oz liquor 43, 1/4 cup sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Slowly pour in one bottle of light red wine, chilled. Refrigerate two hours or overnight. When ready to serve, add 12 oz club soda chilled. Pour slowly over ice. ENJOY!

click here to purchase book!

Mount Up!

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Every July a special sporting event takes place which tests the absolute physical endurance of 180 of the world’s greatest cyclists. This year marks the 96th Tour de France and the return of Lance Armstrong to the Tour after a few years off from cycling. The Tour began on July 4th in Monaco with an exciting time trial and will finish in Paris on July 26th. Today is stage 10 of 21 which begins in Limoges and will finish in Issoudun for a total of 193 km (120 miles).

The Tour is considered by some to be one of the toughest athletic competitions out there. The race spans 23 days and when it is over the riders who finish will have completed 3,500 km (2,170 miles). The winner will be the one rider with the overall lowest time and the overall leader wears a yellow jersey (maillot jaune) to distinguish themselves from the rest of the riders.

To the first time viewer of professional cycling, it looks to be as exciting as watching paint dry, but after learning about the sport and watching more and more of it, I have learned that there is quite a bit of drama between teams, riders, and even riders on the same teams. This infighting makes for an exciting race filled with backstabbing and calculated strategy.

As mentioned above, the year sees Lance Armstrong return to the peloton (the group of riders) with hopes to win his 8th Tour de France. The interesting aspect is that Lance is not his team’s “leader”. On race teams there is a team captain and the rest of the 8 team members are there to support the captain. Lance Armstrong’s team, team “Astana”, contains a number of world class riders such as Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, and Levi Leipheimer. There was a lot of speculation leading up to the Tour about whether Contador of Armstrong would be the team captain going into the race. The team manager picked Contador and Lance said that he would support him during the race. That hasn’t necessarily happened and watching this unfold over the last 9 stages has been interesting. Currently an Italian name Nocentini is the overall race leader and Alberto Contador is 2nd place only 6 seconds behind and Lance Armstrong is in 3rd place 8 seconds behind the leader. This means that Lance Armstrong is has a good chance to win his 8th Tour, that is if his own teammate Contador doesn’t take it away from him.

The stages generally start around 12 or 1pm European time and finish around 5 or 6pm. France is 6 hours ahead of the East Coast. If you’d like to watch this year, the cable channel Versus is covering it on cable and online. The online coverage is pretty good and starts at 830am Eastern time at this link:
http://www.versus.com/tdf/

General information can be found there and the official Tour website is:
http://www.letour.fr/us/homepage_courseTDF.html


Posted by our guest blogger DVACJ

An Afternoon with Grandma

One memory, from what seems like eons ago, that I treasure from my childhood is baking peanut butter cookies with Grandma! There was nothing like getting my hands sticky and sweet, filling the house with the aroma of sugary peanut butter and wrapping my lips around the warm creamy cookies. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon with grandma. They are simple to make and not overly time consuming.

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky..however you prefer!
1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling
1 egg

1. Heat oven to 375F, Stir together peanut butter, sugar and egg in large mixing bowl.
2. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Put some sugar on a plate and roll balls in it to coat. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Press each ball down with a fork to make a crisscross design. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies just start to brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on wire racks.

I usually double the recipe and share with neighbors and friends!

Citrus Sunday

Most Sundays you will find me elbow deep in lemons and limes. Especially in the summer, there is nothing better than lounging on the back porch with a glass of sweet but tart freshly squeezed lemonade. Living in Italy I find that the people waste not and want not! So I use the lemon and lime rinds to create an an amazing potpourri that fills the house with a fresh sweet smell!

First: squeeze the juice of 6 lemons and 2 limes (you can filter or not depending on your preference on pulp).



Second: Make a simple syrup by combining 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water on the stove. Stir until completely dissolved!
Third: Mix 1-2 liters water with juice and add syrup to taste. Everyone likes their lemonade a little different. You may want less water and more syrup depending on how tart or sweet you want it. I usually have syrup left over and stick it in the fridge to add to my tea later. I bottle the lemonade in one liter bottles and put them in the refrigerator as well.



Fourth: Put the rinds into a pot, add water and 1/4 cup olive oil. Make sure water covers rines so they do not burn. From this point you can leave as is or as I like to do, add fresh or dried rosemary. Sometimes I also put in a splash of Vanilla extract. It truly depends on what fragrances you prefer. I have done this with grapefruit and pineapple rinds as well. Leave on the stove at low heat for as long as desired. Make sure to add water if it evaporates!




Cin Cin! Happy Sunday!

Nappin' It!

I LOVE SLEEP! But I never seem to get any. Yesterday I took a nap for the first time since I was pregnant, and it was GLORIOUS!

Doctors Orders: Dr. Sara C. Mednick, author of “Take a Nap! Change Your Life” and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego says "I believe that success in the game of life means that you’re playing at your top level. This is true whether your court is in the office, factory, classroom, or with family and friends. As the leading researcher in the science of napping, my studies show that without a midday rest, performance falls apart across the day. Napping maintains and even boosts your skills, from creative problem solving, and alertness and physical stamina, to mood and memory."

So...Nap it up sometime this weekend-no excuses!

Do you know Van Gogh?

What you didn’t know about Vincent Van Gogh (March 30, 1853 - July 29, 1890):
1. His father was a protestant minister, a profession that Vincent found appealing and he considered for himself.
2. In the winter of 1885-1886 Van Gogh attended the art academy of Antwerp, Belgium. This proved a disappointment as he was dismissed after a few months by his Professor.
3. In 1881 he declared his love to his widowed cousin Kee Vos, who rejected him. Later he would move in with the prostitute Sien Hoornik and her children and considered marrying her.
4. Van Gogh produced all of his work (some 900 paintings and 1100 drawings) during a period of only 10 years before he succumbed to mental illness (possibly bipolar disorder) and committed suicide.
5. His fame grew rapidly after his death especially following a showing of 71 of van Gogh's paintings in Paris on March 17, 1901 (11 years after his death).
6. Vincent van Gogh's mother threw away quite a number of his paintings during Vincent's life and even after his death. But she would live long enough to see her son become a world famous painter.




Today: Draw or paint something...even if it's a stick figure! Drawing is not just for artists and children!

Regina Spektor

This song, "Laughing With" is off of Regina Spektor's new album "Far". She is a unique artist with heavy piano and vocals. For me, she is a breath of fresh air! I highly recommend this album as well as "Begin to Hope".



This live version of "Apres Moi" is amazing! Part of the song is sung in Russian.

Today: Turn off the tv and listen to at least an hour of new music! Explore something that you may not have given a chance before. Ask a friend what their favorite album is...get inspired!

Banner Boutique

I went on a hunt to find a cute, unique headband to put on my baby girl that wouldn't dig holes in her poor little head. It seems like all of those cute little bows and bands are so uncomfortable for them. Well...I found one! The band is very stretchy and soft. Not to mention it is completely adorable. They are very well made and there are a ton of different styles to choose from. Its a bold, beautiful, affordable choice for those out there that want to make a statement- comfortably! Click HERE to take you to the etsy site and shop away!!

Man-sites

There is a distinct difference in the way men and women shop. Women like to go to the store and walk around for awhile, casually browsing over racks of shoes and clothes and maybe, just maybe within an 8 hour period they might buy something that they may or may not need. In fact, I dare say that the browse to purchase ratio is quite large. Men usually only go shopping when they need something and prefer not to spend an entire Saturday walking around a bunch of stores browsing things that they don't need to buy. When men need something, they purposely drive to the exact store that has the item they need, walk in the front door and proceed to where the item is located, purchase it, and get out. This leaves more time for drinking beer. I have found that the internet is an even better place for guys to shop since it doesn't require any of the above. In minutes, you can find the exact product you need for the best price. The internet brings thousands of stores to your living room and for unheard of low prices. There are a number of websites that I frequent everyday for shopping. Everyday? I know it sounds contrary to what I've said above, but these sites are special. They list one item at a time at a steep discount. These items are listed for 15-30 minutes or until sold out, and many times they do sell out. The discounts are usually 50-75% off and unlike the bargain bins at brick and mortar stores, the items are things you want or need and usually in your size. Here they are:
Steep and Cheap
Chainlove
Bonktown
Whiskey militia
Woot!

Steap and Cheap offers deals on outdoor gear, everything from hiking boots, to kayak paddles, to sunglasses.

Chainlove offers deals on mountain biking gear.

Bonktown offers deals on road biking gear.

Whiskey militia offers deals on surfing, skating and other similar sports products.

Woot is a little different. They offer only 1 product per 24 hr period. The products they offer are from all ends of the spectrum.

I could go on and on about the crazy deals on sunglasses, shirts, sweaters, biking clothes, biking products, headphones, and other merchandise that I've scored, but would be here all day. You'll find just how addictive these sites become as you wait to see what the next crazy deal is. These sites aren't limited to just guys either, they list their fair share of gear for women too.

Man-sites

A guest blogger will be making a post today. Keep your eye out for his post about addictive Man-sites!

Sweet Cheeky Designs Giveaway...

Check out the really cute blog designs from the link above!