Favorite things from Trader Joe's

I love Trader Joe's.  And when I went to the store for this blog, I started throwing things in my cart because everything looked so good, I just HAD to include them!  I love that anything I get will be made with natural ingredients, not tested on animals, and no chemicals.  But I had to stop myself.  I know everything there will be of high quality, but there are the things I put on my list and specifically search out, not just looks good as Im passing by.  Here are some of my favorite products from Trader Joe's (In no particular order):

Coconut Oil

Ok, so I know I included this in the "favorite things from Costo" list too, but for different reasons.  At  Costco, you can get a large quantity at a great price, perfect for everything I use it for - smoothies, lotion, eye makeup remover, washing my face, cuticle softener, and more!  But I love the taste of TJ's coconut oil!  When I first found coconut oil, I would pull out the TJ jar and just eat a scoop with a spoon.  I craved it!  I imagine you probably won't go this far, but brand does matter!  And BONUS - it comes in spray form!




Frozen Brown Rice (& the White Rice)

I hate making rice on the stove.  I don't know why.  This rice is frozen, not instant, so I still feel good about the quality.  It comes out perfect every time.






Microwave meal:  Shells with Brie & Asparagus

They have some really good frozen meals.  The following three are pretty much my go-to.  The shells have a big chunk of brie on top that melts into yumminess in the microwave.





Microwave meal:  Fusilli with Vegetables & Basil Pesto

Fresh tomatoes and peppers and pasta with fresh pesto.







Trader Ming's Wonton Soup

This soup is so fresh and delicious.  The wontons are light, not like bricks, and the carrots, snap peas, and all the veggies are so fresh you would think someone made this in their kitchen right before serving it to you!  

Peanut Butter

All natural - just peanuts and a little bit of salt.  I like making my own peanut butter in my Vitamix, but when I don't, this is the PB I keep on hand.








Tartar Sauce

Im a weirdo and I love fish sticks.  Which require tartar sauce.  And this stuff is awesome and not full of gross chemicals.







Organic Mayonnaise

Eggs.  Go organic.  Nuff said.










Lemongrass Chicken Stix

Awesome.  Really really awesome.  I make a little dip with soy sauce, dijon mustard, shredded ginger, and sesame oil.  Throw some sesame seeds in there if you have them!







Chocolate Raspberry Sticks

I don't usually like sweets, but I like having something on hand.  This little box lasts me longer than it would probably last most people.  They are flavorful little raspberry gels covered in dark chocolate.

72% Cacao Dark Chocolate

I don't eat a lot of chocolate, but I like to have this around if I get a craving, which is usually like every other month.  I eat a square of this and Im satisfied.

Sesame Honey Cashews

These are so good I've given them as gifts.  They are a little pricey at $9.99 a bag, but they are cashews after all.  They are tasty and rich and honestly good for you!

Taco Shells

I love tacos.  I love tacos even more than I love fish sticks.  These are all natural corn and make me feel a little bit less guilty.

Instant Miso Soup

I don't know why I bought these in the first place, but Im glad I did!  They make a good bowl of soup.  They include dried tofu and green onion for you purists.  It is a rich soup full of flavor, and great if you get a chill.

Island Soyaki Marinade & Sauce

Yowza!  This is good stuff.  I marinate chicken overnight and grill it and it's sooooo good.  It can be used to marinate chicken, beef, shrimp, kabobs, or used as a sauce over any meat or veggies.

Macarons

Have you ever had macarons?  They are divine.  Not the coconut MACAROONS.  They are pillows of a cookie with a filling.  Just trust me and try them.  They are just as good as any bakery.

Fruit Preserves

All of their preserves are super fresh.  They are just fruit, pectin, and a bit of sugar.  Full of large fruit, you will swear it's homemade.

Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil

They have several types of olive oil, and I'll be honest, I don't know the difference, but maybe you will.  There are greek and italian oils, of various price range.  I like that it's green, and fresh, and tastes good.

Speculoos:  Crunchy Cookie Butter

It's like creamy peanut butter.  But its tastes like cookies instead of peanuts.  It's weird and really delicious.  Put it on graham crackers, fruit, ice cream, or just on a spoon.

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Ok, highly indulgent, and probably won't be purchased for my every day breakfast, and it didn't last me more than a day, but yum.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Sorry I don't have a picture.  I accidentally deleted it.  And ate the rest of the jar.  Im not a sweets lover, but I love this on ice cream, or on a spoon.  Are you noticing this easy-access trend?

Charles Shaw Wine (two-buck chuck)

Technically it now costs $2.99, but worth every penny.  This award winning budget wine was what made Trader Joe's famous before eating healthy and organic was cool.  They have a variety of options  and I've never had a bad one.  Buy the case for under $50.

Although the don't have a large section of soaps and body products, these are a few of my necessary products:

Lemon Kitchen Hand Soap

All natural and smells yummy

Moisturizing Cream Shave

It takes a little bit used to using a cream and not a foam, but it's worth it.  My skin is always so soft, and I like using less chemicals.

Spa Shampoo

No, this doesn't smell like Paul Mitchell, and there are probably other shampoos you would buy specifically for the scent, but I add my own essential oils and Im good to go.  I keep two mixes on hand - rosemary mint & lavender 

And of course there's just really cool stuff at TJs.  I didn't buy these, but I just wanted to show that you can get some really gourmet goods.

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

It's the Spring Issue!

Oh MAN!  What a great spring!  We've had ridiculously warm days early on, and then a whole bunch of rain, so when I came home from my 6-day Florida vacation, the plants were crazy big!

But let me back up.  While it was starting to get warm here in Michigan, I was fortunate to take a longer-than-a-weekend trip to Florida.  We have a condo in St. Pete on the Gulf of Mexico with a beautiful view of the beach.  This picture doesn't accurately depict the perfect white sand.  We stayed for 6 days and I realized how important those extra days were for relaxation.  When its a long weekend, it's almost time to go home by the time you get there!  We had no immediate plans, and home was so many days away.  It was such a great break from reality!

Now back to the garden.  It's always so great to see that FIRST flower popping through.  Even if it's cold out, it makes me KNOW that spring is on it's way.  I know I know that its inevitable, but with winter in Michigan, sometimes Im not so sure.  THIS was the first flower, the early Crocus, back on April 1st.

Followed by my tulips, including the ones from Holland.  Amazing.   And only a few daffodils.  I must have screwed them up by planting so many tulips.   

And this is my favorite kind of daffodil, with the lipstick, as I like to call it.

So I'm a perennial flower kind of girl.  I love watching them come up in the spring, creating more plants of themselves, the surprise of the flowers, the mourn of the flowers that suddenly didn't come up one year (RIP, Pam's choice foxglove!).  And I would like to say that it's because I don't want all the work of planting annuals every year, but I end up planting every year anyway.  Yes, some of them are perennials.  I literally have no room left in my garden beds!  (my flower guy at the farmer's market said, "You said that two weeks ago when you were buying plants!") But my favorite annuals are dahlias (the big pretty ones), gazenias, cosmos, hot lips (that's what my flower guy calls them - Im not sure what they're really called), and pansies.  I think it's because I like the variation of colors and the graphic element to them.

I wanted to share the spring fertilizer that I sprayed across my lawn and flowers.  I have found that they really like this mix, so I look forward to seeing them flourish:

1 bottle of beer

1 can of Sprite

1/2 cup mouthwash

1/2 cup ammonia

1/2 cup dish soap

Put in hose sprayer - spray early in the morning 

Sneak peak - the first iris has flowered, the rest of them are on their way, and the lilies are threatening to come out soon as well!  Next blog will have the GORGEOUS dahlias I bought this year as well.

PEACE.  LOVE.  SERENE.

Apple Watch!

Apple Watch

So you've all seen the hype about the Apple Watch - NOT the iWatch, as some people thought it should be called.  If you haven't, you've been living under a rock!

After much anticipation, the official pre-order date was announced.  Online sales were accepted at midnight.  This is my Dad's Christmas gift to me, so I was super excited.  Apparently Im not smart enough, because I didn't think about the fact that they are in California.  So I was online, patiently waiting.  The online store said "loading" for a long time.  What I did find strange was that a system software update for my computer and iPhone automatically ran at midnight.  You can see my confusion.  So I waited till about 1:30am and finally went to bed, needing to be up for a flight the next morning.  While at the airport, I called customer service, and they placed the order for me for the green sport watch.  Don't get me wrong, this was no easy decision!  I looked online for a couple of months, and changed my mind a few times, before settling on this model.  She said that I had missed the April 24 first delivery date, and the May delivery date, and that my watch would be shipped in June.

So imagine my surprise when I got an email yesterday saying that my watch would be delivered TODAY!  On the first shipment day!  I will get the watch on the FIRST DAY anyone will have one!  I am so freaking excited I can barely contain it!  The email said that I would need to be home to sign for the delivery.  I would have stayed home from work if I didn't already have the day off.  I canceled PT (for my knee, yes Im still in PT - I'll update later), and settled in to wait for my delivery.

Here it is.  There's no way I can write my feelings, so I made a video of the "first look" (no, Im not marrying the watch):

Can't wait to learn all about it!!!

Click here to see all models:    http://www.apple.com/watch/gallery/

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Blessing Packages

I've been noticing a lot more people on the street corners lately.  I know that Detroit (city of) has a large homeless population, but I have only seen a few out and about in the suburbs.  But lately I have seen a lot of people with small cardboard signs hanging out on corners.  There is one corner in particular that is at the exit off of the freeway for downtown Royal Oak.  I have given money a few times, and once a bag of chips that came with my lunch that I didn't eat.  I often wonder what my few dollars could possibly get them, if they are allowed to sit in a diner and have dinner, and while trying to hold back judgement, I wonder what that money is going toward.

So I decided that a package of goodies might be more practical than a few bucks.  They can eat at their leisure, and they don't have to walk a mile to get it.  It probably cost about $10-$15 each package, but I think it's worth it.  I have also seen a few people with dogs, so I bought a large bag of dog treats and separated into ziplock bags.  I have a soft spot for animals.

Every time I saw a good deal (10/$10), I bought things.  I was at CVS and found the snack packs of tuna or chicken salad with cracker for only $1!  They are normally $2.50.  The easter candy was 75% off!  I also stopped in the dollar store and grabbed some great deals - like 8 packs of cheese and crackers for $1!  I also went into my stock of hotel lotion and shampoo and put those in there.  I had bought a pack of socks that were too big for me, so I put in a pair in each.  Anything helps!  I had a list, and forgot some things, but it doesn't have to be perfect.  Even a few goodies will make a difference!

Here is what I put in the 5 packages I made up, put in a airtight ziplock bag:





Party mix (or corn chips)
Tuna salad & crackers
Socks
Cookie sandwiches
Cracker sandwiches
Hand warmers
Cracker sticks
Gum
Toothbrush & toothpaste
Lotion
Hershey kisses






But what I really want them to know (I'll get a little more artistic next time):

Other ideas:

Plastic cups of fruit or pudding (with spoon!)
Soap
Deodorant
Floss
Bandaids
Water
Baby wipes
Hand sanitizer
Wash Cloth
Comb
Chapstick
Sunscreen
Gloves
Hat
Pre-paid phone card
Grocery store gift card
Tissues
First aid kit
Sandwich


Let me know if you make up packages to share!

Peace. Love. Serene.

Spring and healing

I was going to start out with the bad stuff, but that's just cruel!  THIS is what you need to see - the first flowers of spring!  I should have moved the dead leaves, but I was just so excited to see signs of spring, of sun, of rain, of worms!  YAY SPRING!  By the way, this beautiful photo was taken with an iPhone 5S.  I am thoroughly impressed with the camera sometimes, as long as you take your time and touch the screen for focus.

I'm not going to lie, my mood has not been the greatest the last couple of months.  I was hit hard with the flu in December / January, and it took me a long time to recover.  I don't totally hate winter as a season, but for some reason I just couldn't shake the blues.  So now that the days are getting longer, the sun is shining, I will be able to get my hands in the dirt, I am considerably happier!  I am looking forward to this season with open arms.





In honor of Easter, I wore these to work.  No they are not slippers.  They actually have a small wedge heel.  They are adorable.  Im bummed my boss was on vacation.  She would have enjoyed these.  We are a chiropractic practice that specializes in pregnant women, babies, and families.

So I am still in physical therapy for my knee (MCL).  The whole point was to be able to play in my league finals, which has come and gone.  I went open skating and felt pretty good, so I did play in our semi-finals, which we won!  I played for a period in the finals, but after feeling a couple of minor "twinges", I took myself out of the game.  At least I tried!  So now I have been in PT for 7 weeks, and by all accounts, I should be almost completely healed, but there is something stopping the progress.  There are still exercises I am not able to do, and there is still pain.  This week I had a serious setback and could barely walk on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I don't even know what caused it.  I am also having excruciating pain in the middle of the night, so much that it wakes me up, and in the morning.  

I tried kinesio-tape for the first time this week.  It is supposed to increase lymphatic drainage, increase blood flow, and increase healing.  Many athletes swear by it.  This is the picture I did on my knee.  Yes, I looked at YouTube to find out how.  HA!

Apparently there are studies done that say that it only creates a placebo effect.  Well, Im here to tell you that can't be true, because I didn't think it was going to work!  The other day I tried it out, expecting no difference, and it took away my pain instantly!  I was shocked to walk stairs effortlessly.  So then the next day I took it off before I showered, and after my shower I was wondering why I had pain again.  THE TAPE!  When I put it back on, the pain subsided again.  Not completely, but enough to praise the tape.  I love this stuff.

So when I told my physical therapist that I still have pain, hetested my MCL, and it actually seems to be quite strong.  So there may be something else going on.  Nothing else showed up on my MRI but it's always possible that I injured it after.  So I guess it's time to go back to the doc.  Im sick of being injured.

Back to spring ... I bought my first "in the ground" plant at the farmer's market today, and look forward to the day of flats and annuals.  What are you planning for your garden this year?

Peace.  Love.  Serene.