Bella

I just finished dog sitting at a little beach cottage, for long-term friends.
The house and garden are comfortable and familiar, as are the three old dogs and the three cats.
But they have a new kid on the block too--she's almost four months old.
Isn't she sweet?

An Interview With Jamie Ridler

This is so inspiring.

An Interview With Jamie Ridler by the blog Your Courageous Life

For those of us who love shiny things

Hair News

I recently splurged on myself and got a Brazilian Blowout.
I was talking to friends about it at a pool party July 4th, and someone said it was worthwhile to spend money on your hair.
After all, when your hair looks good, you feel good.
So I was motivated to give it a try.

My hair is naturally wavy, but I tend to like it best when it's dried straight.
The problem is that I just never want to take the time to labor over a blow dryer (much less a flat iron).
I tend to just let it air dry, but then it has a tendency to frizz, and that's so not attractive.

Before:
I actually did blow dry here, only kind of half-assed in the back.
The split ends are ridiculous.

After:
This pic looks a lot like my hair cut way back in December (way too long ago. The blog post is actually the first time I started seeing this particular stylist), but it was only flat-ironed then.
This is having a keratin conditioning treatment ironed in.

You can't really tell in the photo, but my stylist refused to add highlights this time (I loved what he did last time) because it's too damaging.
Instead, he added lowlights, to mimic the look of highlights
I have to admit I'm not happy with the color this time--it feels too dark and flat.
My natural color is strawberry blonde, and the stylist usually does a great job of getting my hair back to its natural color.
Age, unfortunately, makes it too ashy (and some grays too, sigh...).
I need to trim more off the length next time too.
What I really need is a STYLE, but I haven't a clue what that should be.

So was the Brazilian worth it?
Well, yes and no.
First off, my stylist gave me a special deal, so it wasn't the $350 to $650 usual price (gasp!).
Initially, I felt like (to quote my mom) a drowned rat.
The treatment left my hair limp and lifeless and too flat on my head.
As I've washed it though, the body has returned, but without the frizz, so I like that.
For that reason, I'll probably do it again in four months (the length of time this is supposed to last).
And yeah, I still often just let it air dry, but now it's drying a lot nicer and tamer, so that's a good thing.

Ruby

I was craving an old-fashioned shake, so I stopped in at Ruby's Diner for a mint shake, but walked out with a pineapple one.
While waiting, I thought it would be fun to photograph the huge rotating waitress statue.
She reminds me of roadside architecture, which I love.

Sign

Someone messed with the "no U-turn" sign at the Interstate 5-North onramp off Seaworld Drive


A closer look


It cracks me up!
I remember a girl in 6th grade who always pronounced 'didn't' as 'dint'.
She was so beautiful and popular that several of us copied her for awhile.
Funny.

Cookie idea

I was in Henry's today, which is a local market that has more of a health orientation than the standard grocery store.
I'm fascinated by a product I saw there today--flavor infused peanut butter by Sunland.

The peanut butters are flavored with either raspberry, chocolate, carmel, or most fascinating of all...banana.

I wonder if these would make good cookies?

When I make sandwiches, I like natural-style peanut butter that you have to stir and refrigerate.
But these are too dry for baking, so when I make cookies I use the standard Skippy-type peanut butters with the added shortening.
Perhaps a peanut butter cookie recipe made with flavored pb could be yummy.
I know a lot of recipes are out there using Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread), but I haven't yet tried any.

Hmmmm....

Jellyfish

In the last month or so, there have been a lot of purple jellyfish washing up on the beach.
My friend who is a surfer says that's an indication that the water is warmer.

Evidently these are called Black Jellyfish, and are rarer than I originally thought.
More info here




They sadly seem to be dotting the beach, especially on Fiesta Island.
The dogs don't seem to be bothered by them, nor interested in disturbing the jello-ish mass.