Just One Carefree Summer Day!

Did you ever have a best summer of your life that you never forgot or a summer where you just felt absolutely carefree? Today is the last day of August and I feel as if summer has just swept itself from under my feet. All throughout the cold winter I dreamed of a magical place like the Swiss Alps to spend my summer but that was just a dream that didn't come true. This summer was filled with lots of anxiety and responsibility everyday except yesterday when I was given one carefree summer day.

Imagine a day that feels like the pages of a fairytale? The universe provided that one special day for me yesterday and for that I feel truly blessed.

Enjoy the remaining days of your summer and may you have lots of sweet carefree days!

Just One Carefree Summer Day

Just One Carefree Summer Day with my boyfriend came at last at the end of August with the rise of the sun over a freshwater Great Lake in Grand Haven. A morning swim in pure water and a walk on the sugary sand beach before sitting on the beach chair with perfectly brewed cup of coffee in hand. Seagulls by my side and views of the sparkling lake, pier, and bright red lighthouse. A stroll down Washington Street for an indulgance of lavendar macaroons and handmade chocolate at Patricia's. Am I in France?

Holland's calling (in Michigan that is). My boyfriend and I take a short drive on highway 131 past blueberry farms before entering the gates of Nelis' Dutch Village, a fairytale setting of amusement rides, canals, Dutch folk dancing, farm animals, specialty shops, and much more. We feel Dutch all day and don't leave until the gates begin to close.

The day's not over yet. A few bites of Edam cheese as we drive to the city of Grand Rapids to have Indian food. We arrive, the owner shakes our hand and we sit down at a table. Unusual to have the whole restaurant to ouselves but today is my day of serendipity. We order our food and watch an Indian show while we wait. The food is prepared from scratch and brought to us 15 minutes later.Such delicious, flavorful, and spicey Indian dishes and the owner has become our new friend and gives us complimentary masala chai. He encourages us to visit India soon.

A late August day when summer is slowly coming to a close but my one carefree summer day has been blissful from dawn until dusk. It's a gift from the universe to have this one captivating carefree summer day filled with love, laughter, and a grand old time.

The Soap that Cured my Poison Ivy

Have you ever had poison ivy? If not consider yourself very blessed because posion ivy is a real nusanice. Being outdoors is the name of the game for me and I sometimes forget that "mother nature" is not always on my side. Such was the case early last week when an annoying itcy rash appeared on my leg and spread like fire. I was in agony, absolute agony. The swelling on the back of my right leg was so painful I could hardly bend or walk. I was cursed with poison ivy!

Remedies for healing poison ivy? I tried everything; apple cider vinegar, baking soda, bananna peels, calamine lotion, oatmeal, tricalm ointment, witch hazel....oh my gosh nothing helped cure the agony. I was ready to see a doctor until my thoughtfu boyfriend insisted that there wasa a cure for drying up the posion ivy rash. The miracle was a soap called FELS- NAPTHA. Just one application took the swelling away and itching away. Another application the following day practically cleared the posion ivy rash altogether. Unlike all the other products I used that were useless, FELS -NAPTHA only cost .97 cents at WALMART and it worked.

Purex FELS -NAPTHA has been around for over 100 years. No need to have uncomfortable poison ivy moments like I did but should you ever encounter irritating poison ivy don't delay, head to WALMART and get extraordianry FELS -NAPTHA made by Purex.

Thank you PUREX!

www.purex.com

Hammock Moments

Last year I got a hammock for my birthday but I didn't get to enjoy it very much. Today made up for those lost days on a hammock. I took a walk in the verdant woods and found the perfect place to hang my hammock near the lake and harmonize with nature. Now I'm hooked. I plan on having plenty of "hammock moments" in the upcoming days because hammocking really melts the stresses away and brings relaxation to the body and mind.

Who do we thank for hammocks?

Historically the credit points to the Mayan people of Central America. 

Cupcake Moments

Americans have a fascination with cupcakes. There are so many flavors of cupcakes to choose from and one can enjoy a cupcake in different sizes too. Cupcakes are glorious. They're fun to make and they make a wonderful gift. In fact yesterday I was gifted made from scratch cupcakes from my co-worker who happens to be an expert baker. She had promised to make some cupcakes for me for my birthday and I just couldn't decide what flavor to ask for. Finally we came up with the idea of a key lime cupcake batter with raspberry frosting. Oh my gosh....one bite of Angie's cupcake and I was in cupcake heaven.

Who invented the cupcake? Amelia Simmons shared the recipe in her 1796 cookbook "American Eatery." Cupcake Moments are some of the very best moments in life so have a cupcake or two.

Some flavor ideas:

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
Black Forest Cherry Cupcakes
Brownie Batter Cupcakes
Carmel Apple Cupcakes
Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
Kahlua Cupcakes
Key Lime Cupcakes
Lemon Cupcakes
Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes
S'More Cupcakes
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Vanillla Cupcakes