Fabulous Products Alert ~ Fall 2016 Edition

    I love to think of fall as a time to regroup and simplify many areas of my daily routine. I also love to share products that are tested & loved by yours truly to help the simplification process along (and to save you money & time). So here are my recent favorites:

~ Aveeno has come out with a new skincare line called absolutely ageless. (You may have seen the Jennifer Aniston commercials) I am using the cleanser, daily moisturizer with SPF30, & the restorative night cream. They smell delicious & light, and I love my skin in them; soft & moisturized but never too much. You can never go wrong with Aveeno.

~ Softsoap Coconut Butter Body Scrub ~ Okay, I have tried loooots of 'moisturizing' body washes over the years. Never have I ever come out of the shower without feeling the need for body lotions... until now. This fabulous smelling, delicate scrub leaves me feeling moisturized... FINALLY. And you can't beat the price - between $3.50-4.50 for a generous size bottle.

~ Trader Joe's Fresh Linen Scent Antibacterial Hand Soap ~ Don't cringe on the antibacterial part. This soap it PETA approved (listed as one of their favorite vegan products), does not contain the ab ingredients like triclosan & triclocarban (which will officially be banned in less than a year). It does not contain SLS Sodium Lauryl Sulfate which is also a no no ingredient. What it does have going for it is fab ingredients like aloe, Vitamin E and a wonderful list of botanical extracts. The scent is unbelievable, the recyclable plastic bottle is so pretty and you get a generous 16.9 FL OZ. size for $3 and change!

~ PRO-FX Sticky Base Coat ~ This my most recent discovery (last two weeks). I wanted a new top coat for home manicures & saw this; Grabs and Locks in Color base coat. I am a fast manicure kind of girl (take more time on the pedicures) so this intrigued me and for $5 & change at Wal-Mart I thought I'd give it a try. So twice now, just the basecoat & one single coat of a barely there color and NO topcoat. The results were better than I dreamed. With no thought to protecting my nails the single coat lasted a week!! (probably longer but I got bored) The bonus is my usually easy-to-break nails are hard & haven't broken at all in two weeks!! I will definitely try other products in this line.

~ L'Oreal Revitalift Bright Reveal Peel Pads ~ After months of summer sun, my facial skin usually needs an overhaul even though I am a sunscreen wearer. With glycolic acid & other ingredients, I use this to exfoliate my skin more quickly & efficiently. Swipe & sleep with the product on overnight. The generous size pad does my face, neck, décolleté and hands! I use just once a week & the generous 30 day supply will last months. Exfoliation is key to helping your serums & moisturizers (like the Aveeno line) to work at optimum performance. At only $16-$18 and change, much less expensive than a facial.

~ L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation ~ My go to line for foundation always seems to be L'Oreal. I have reviewed many before this one & have never been disappointed. This could be my favorite at this time of my life. (Love a) pump bottle with smooth, even coverage (and real coverage, not the sun damage still can show through kind) but gives you the look that you are not wearing any foundation and is luminous! My cheekbones have beautiful, natural glow! It also has SPF 20 and keeps my skin moisturized all day (but not tacky or gross). Another great value.

Enjoy the products & the added simplicity they will offer you; fewer manicures, beautiful skin which means less & less makeup & Ooohs & Aaahs from your guests emerging from your bathroom saying, "that soap smells amazing!!"

What a Gardener Truly Needs... A Sense of Humor!

   So east coast it has been a rough summer. Record number of heat waves, little to no rain. A real struggle for gardeners and our furry outdoor friends too. Every part of the yard has been ripped & eaten by deer & critters like I've never seen before. I in turn am trying to keep my sense of humor about it all. I mean they are all just trying to feed the youngins & stay alive, right?!

   For a week or so I was noticing a change in my extraordinary hibiscus plant. Lovingly planted in a large ceramic pot & carefully placed in the right sun exposure on my patio, there was a big difference. Day by day, from bottom to top it was losing its healthy, glossy green leaves and along with them, the spectacular deep coral-pink blooms. Was it bugs? Nope.  OMG this sucks, WHAT is doing this?? Then the culprit revealed himself. It was a squirrel, using the plant to practice for his kinds version of America Ninja Warriors. I never saw him eat or chew, just scale to the top, over & over, every day so eventually every single leaf was knocked off. So, what's a gardener do?? Laugh because a great photo-op comes to mind. (see below) Yes, my little Charlie Brown tree form hibiscus is now making the big time with his picture on the internet! 

"I never thought it was a bad little tree."

     I also have a beloved tree form Rose of Sharon 'tree', happily rescued one fall from Lowe's clearance. It is now about 10 feet tall but needs some help. Parts of branches have not leafed out the past two years and in odd placements. This has been frustrating on how or not to prune it. A few weeks ago I was mesmerized by the number of chickadees, titmice, goldfinches, woodpeckers, hummingbirds & cardinals using the twig-like dead branches as their perches going to and from a close by for birds only 'food court'. (see pic, 'twigs' in background) 

I laughed and smiled as I watched & it came to me, to do the minimal because isn't that why we plant flowers & shrubs & trees in the first place - they give the bees, butterflies, birds (and now ninja squirrels) a place to hang out? That's why this gardener plants anyway. And there is the joy. Coneflowers that went to seed way early because of drought are now tiny seed heads home to those goldfinches. To truly be a happy gardener through all the seasons, one must take it all in stride and not take it all too seriously!